Lucy said, "What's that and why is that a best picture?" Before I could find words a tear rolled down my cheek and I stumbled to find words. She was sitting on my lap and Molly stood at my feet and listened attentively. I summarized with "About 10 years ago, airplanes ran into buildings in NY and DC and knocked them down." As I paused to reflect on 1) how on Earth to describe the events of 9/11 to the beautiful innocence of my little girl, 2) what level of detail could she even comprehend and 3) the fact I had some crazy deep emotions still behind that horrific day... She chimed in quickly with a "Looks like they're rebuilding it", she jumped off my lap and continued as she flexed her biceps and gritted her teeth like a pro-wrestler would, "and it's going to be stronger than ever!!"
I pinched her little biceps and said "Whoa. I hope the new buildings are as strong as you!" Her smile beamed from ear to ear. She jumped back on my lap. I discreetly wiped my cheek with my sleeve. We looked at a couple more pictures and hurried onto our next activity for the day, feeding the ducks at the lake! A new favorite for both girls. Molly, however, was heartbroken when there were no boats launching at the ramp today. She kept saying "Ducks happy. I want a boat! See a boat! Where the boats?"
1 comment:
I recently too experienced something very similar- I was very surprised at the emotions I had while watching a documentary on TV about the building of the memorial. I am just so glad that those families and friends of the lost as well as Americans can now have a place to properly grieve and remember. - Amy B
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