September 11, 2001

It’s hard to believe that it has been 9 years already.  Some people lost family members, some became hero’s, some lost jobs, some lost hope, some lost confidence, some went to bed that night not feeling safe for the first time.  I remember 9.11 a lot differently than most people.  I was a freshman at Elon coming home from my 8:00 class, my only plan was to get back to bed.  My roommate had the news on and told me about the planes crashing as soon as I got in the door.  Both my roommate and I had family members who were pilots (her father, my uncle) and they weren’t giving information about the planes.  I called my mom expecting her to turn on the TV, watch it with me and tell me everything was going to be OK.  See my mom LOVED NY City, she grew up near the city, she worked in the city as a young woman, she is a big time Yankee fan and her ring tone is “Start Spreadin’ the News”.  I figured she may know people who worked in the WTC or be worried about terrorism or even be upset that the city she loved would never be the same.  My mom kind of blew me off on the phone (she hadn’t seen the news) and told me that she had to go because she had a doctor’s appointment and she needed to run errands.  To be honest I don’t know that I ever told her this but I was really annoyed at her reaction.  I later found out that her doctor’s appointment was the appointment where she got her Parkinsons diagnosis.

My mom is a strong lady (the strongest I know) and she stayed strong on 9.11, the day the status of her health changed, the day terrorists invaded our wonderful country, the day people crashed into her city, the day my dad (an airline mechanic) wasn’t sure if he would have a job.  She didn’t tell people (other than my dad) about her diagnosis until later on.  Scott and I were some of the first to find out and she didn’t tell us until November of that year. 

Today, 9 years later my mom is in the hospital recovering from her second knee replacement surgery.  I am guessing she is either driving the doctors and nurses crazy because she won’t listen to what they say and she is trying to do things she shouldn’t on her own, or she is the favorite patient making them all laugh…my bet an equal amount of each.  If anyone wants to hear my mom’s story she is happy to share…giving credit to her success and positive attitude to God, plus she would tell you a joke or two.