Live every day to the fullest.
In other words: eat more Flourless Chocolate-Chip Cookies.
I struggled with today’s post.
Mostly, I struggled in deciding whether or not to publish any post today. Today: September 11th.
I’d completely forgotten until last night. My initial reaction was to unschedule the recipe post I’d written (ironically enough, for New York-style Cheesecake) and take a day off from blogging, in honor of the victims of 9/11. It seemed wrong and superficial to talk about desserts on the anniversary of a day so many innocent people lost their lives.
However, I’m not sure the victims of September 11th would want that. I think they would want us to honor their memories by celebrating life; by not taking a single moment—or a single person in our lives—for granted. Yes, it’s cliché to say, “Don’t take anything in your life for granted.” But just stop for a second and really think about the meaning behind the cliché. Think about aspects of your life that you do take for granted.
Personally, I can always use a reminder to put the little things—a failed recipe, a bad hair day, even a slow internet connection—in perspective. Likewise with people: instead of getting annoyed at a friend’s bad habit that drives me crazy, I should be grateful the friend is in my life and is therefore able to annoy me.
Also, as horrible as September 11th was, we need to remember that atrocities are still taking place every single day around the world. It’s easy to sit back and pretend we’re being patriotic by waving our American flags and spouting out phrases like: “I’m proud to be an American” and “Support our troops!” But what would really show patriotism would be to get out there and actually do something, whether it be volunteering at a food pantry, writing letters to the brave men and women fighting overseas, etc.
I was so active in high school—visiting nursing homes, making comfort pillows for a local hospital, going to the animal shelter, coordinating service projects through my church… I’m embarrassed to admit that as college work became more time-consuming, I cut back on these other activities and went from helping so many causes to helping very few. I really need to get back into it. Sitting home and pretending to be a good person helps no one.
Question of the Day:
Do you remember where you were on September 11th?
I was in high school, and when my math teacher told us a plane had hit the World Trade Center, I thought he was making a really bad joke. And then some kid did play a really bad joke—he called in a bomb threat to our school, so we spent the rest of the day huddled together in the football stadium. We were hot (It was over 100 degrees), hungry (Our lunches were left in the evacuated building) and scared, with no idea what was going on. Kids didn’t have iphones back then.
But when I got home, I obviously learned that, as bad as my day was, it paled in comparison to the day of so many others.
This is a beautiful post Katie. I remember that day so well! My grandparents picked me up from school (I was 7!) and they were totally panicked because they couldn’t get hold of the rest of our family, who lived within a few blocks of Ground Zero. Thank God it turned out they were safe, but it was a scary time, and I pray for all those who lost their lives and for those who lost loved ones. Never forgotten <3
DITTO i was 7 and jut got picked up from school.. i had a friend over for a playdate and mymom was lie I NEED THE TV. which NEVER HAPPENED.
im so happy your family was safe emma!
You are thoughtful with your words Katie. 🙂
I was driving to move from CO to OR with my boyfriend(now husband) to get ready for the upcoming snowboard season. It is still so hard to think this did and could of happened…
I plan on spending today as a celebration for how lucky we all are and how much i love my loved ones. 🙂
I was only 5 at the time, but I remember being at Day Care and the aids bringing us all inside, freaking out. My mom came and got me and we just watched the TV as she cried.
There are people in my socialish circle who believe America should just get over 9/11. Some people are so ungrateful.
Happier note; I can’t wait to see the cheesecake recipe!
I was in fifth grade in 2001. That morning when my mom and stepdad (who is from New York, and whose family lives there) had the news on, my little brother and I were still home before school. My mom didn’t take us to school that day. I remember it being a very strange day, and I don’t think I understood the impact of what happened at the time, but I remember being scared that something might happen to Los Angeles too. Everyone in my stepdad’s family was fine, but his sister (a nurse at a hospital) saw a plane go into one of the buildings. I can’t even imagine.
I was in my first year forestry class and my professer came in in tears and told the class. We were all devastated and class was cancelled!
I was in preschool when 9-11 happened, so I don’t remember any of it.
My mother’s really good friend was in one of the planes tho. 🙁
I was 5 and didn’t know anything had happened-my parents didn’t want to scare me. I am so sorry for the family and friends who died. God bless America.
I couldn’t have said this any better. I think far too often we see people with things like “United We Stand” bumper stickers, huge flags outside our houses, claiming patriotism, when in actuality our actions speak louder than words. I have pretty strong ideas on politics, but they center around dropping whatever you think about the party with which you’re not affiliated and doing something to help our country, working together. And that’s exactly what those people who lost their lives 10 years ago did. I can’t agree more that we need to celebrate life today, and the fact that we’re here thanks in part to those brave men and women.
Thanks for the Larabars, on an unrelated note 🙂
Sometimes I would like to ask those people with the “support our troops” bumper stickers, “So… how exactly are you supporting our troops?” It’s easy to slap on a bumper sticker. Not so easy to actually DO something. And I am guilty of this too; I need to DO more in my life for others.
Yes, that is EXACTLY how I feel. And I, too, need to get better about doing something. Let’s brainstorm and get the blogger world in on some sort of action 🙂
I’m in 🙂
I was in my first period, freshman year of high school. One of the teachers came in and said that a plane had hit the towers. He said it casually like it was a weird accident. It wasn’t until lunch when we made our way to the library that we realized it was no accident.
Wonderful post Katie. It was my first year teaching and I remember not having any clue how to handle the situation and talk about it with my students. Thanks for reminding all of us to cherish everyday we have. 🙂 It’s always nice to take a step back and put things in perspective.