09-11

Today, on the 18th anniversary of the 09-11 attacks, I get the honor and privilege of presenting a lesson on this topic to a group of my students.

I teach high school biology to a generation that was not alive in 2001.  On Mondays through Thursdays, a group of sophomores stops by my room for study hall and our school principal gave all of the faculty the task of teaching our study hall kids about 09-11 today.  I was so excited and honored to be given such a privilege of remembering my fellow Americans and sharing their stories of bravery with this next generation.

I was blessed with the opportunity to go to New York this past December and visit the 09-11 Museum.  I wrote about that trip here.  The museum is so well curated and thought-out and does such an amazing job of bringing reverence and honor to the victims of 09-11.  I would go back 100 times if possible.  I hope to take Aaron next summer.

The museum struck so many chords with me.  It's such an awe-inspiring place to visit and I was so so blessed to be guided by my real life blogger friend, Stephanie, who works there.  Having her point out intricate details and relate artifacts to the objects from which they came made the trip all the better.

As I was perusing items to share with my class today, I started at the 09-11 museum website.  The site has an interactive timeline feature which covers lots of the artifacts (video clips, audio bytes, photos) that are shown in the museum (and unable to be photographed or recorded inside the museum).  I plan to use this website today as I give my lesson.

As I was reliving the events and listening to some sound bytes and reading transcripts, I tried telling Aaron about a particular sound byte and I couldn't even finish my sentence.  I was overcome with tears and was led to wracking sobs.  The severity and rawness of the events is still ever present in anyone who lived through that day's events.

I consider it a huge honor to recognize and remember those who lost their lives that day and in the days and years to come.  I hope to impart to my students a taste of what privilege we have as Americans to make sure the story of the victims lives on.

Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba