September 15, 2011

Nine-Eleven: Why Our Story. Among the Sea of Experiences?

All week, I've been considering how (or whether) to share our family's experiences following 9-11. After all, we were not in the eye of the storm ourselves. Who really cares to hear about our distant ripples and so far after the event?

Personally, it matters because it affected my extended family.  A cousin of mine working in New York City that day and saw people leap from buildings. He looks at the world, and life and death, very differently.  Another cousin died that year, and that marked every life in our family. Marguerite was an angel and the cousin I was closest to. Her death was only dimly related to 9-11;  she died Thanksgiving Day weekend, in her sleep.  Hers was one of two mysterious deaths in upstate New York, that happened with that particular holiday that year.

Then, as a parent,  I am in a quandary. I have just realized I need to educate my son about 9-11.  A void is there in all who were young that day in 2011. Too late this year, I am painfully aware of it.  At some point, our son may need to see the footage we protected him from. I'll need to face that, even as each year, just like the first, I have left our t.v. screen black. 

1 comment:

  1. I am sure that you will find a way to tell him when the time is right. The truth is important. And what our part was, just as with an inventory.

    ReplyDelete

I welcome your thoughts. Keep me honest~