Today's a happy day and a sad day

Of all the things I dreamed about teaching my kids about it never really dawned on me until today that I'd be the one to teach them about the events of September 11, 2001. My newsfeed was flooded this morning with "We'll always remember/We'll never forget" type status updates and photos-- and I realized that Jackson can't ever remember. To him, it will just be a history lesson, a story.

I've never really felt compelled to homeschool my children, but with this topic, I just knew that it was mine to teach. Not just something to talk about in a classroom someday. So today, I decided we'd talk about it. I organized some photos and videos on my computer and I let him stay up a little bit past naptime to be able to talk with him alone. He was intrigued as soon as I said, "Hey I want to talk to you about something!"

I started out telling him that today was a happy day and kind of a sad day too. First, it's Aunt Laura's 21st birthday!!! Today is a happy day to celebrate her because she's so much fun and we love her!

{we made a quick, impromptu trip to Springfield for a pre-birthday celebration this weekend}

But then we talked about why today is a sad day. A long time ago-- when Mommy still lived with Grammy and Papa and Daddy lived with Grandma Linda and Papa Forrest some people did a mean thing to our country. We talked about our country and the American flag. We talked about the towers and how the planes crashed into them. He saw photos and a short video clip of the tower collapsing and then it just wasn't there anymore.

I knew I didn't want the point of our discussion to be about the bad people in the world, so we spent just as much time talking about how people helped after the crashes. Firefighters, doctors, soldiers. And I explained about how a solider's job is to help protect us and I even snuck in a bit about how sometimes soldiers have to go away for a long time {just as good groundwork in case we experience a deployment in our future}.

Jackson kept asking, "Why do people not like our country?" And I just felt so helpless to say, "I don't have all the answers, honey. But sometimes people are just mean and we won't ever understand."

This was all a rather quick ordeal. Maybe 10, 15 minutes tops. But he was begging to keep looking at pictures and to hear more stories but I insisted that he napped. As soon as he woke up, he was asking to learn more. I wanted to document his reactions so I could share with Derek. This whole concept was brand new to him and his reactions were just so honest and genuine.

What I wasn't expecting was some of the stuff I actually captured. And I put together just a quick video because I can't help but be so proud of my little boy. The first part of the video is him just reflecting on what we've talked about. Oh, his facial expressions when he talks about the "bad guys"-- it just kills me. But, I was nearly in proud-mommy tears as he was talking about growing up to be a "protector" because it's "his job to do when he's a daddy" .... just like his Daddy. Seriously, tears all over again. My heart is full and I pray that his innocence will be around for a long, long time.



As I was quickly exploring Google in attempts to figure out ways to teach this info to a preschooler, I didn't uncover much. I pieced together some photos and videos in a way that worked and if anyone is interested, I'll share. It's nothing spectacular, but apparently he got the idea and he isn't scared or worried (which is what I was really concerned about!). Just let me know!

We will never forget

While we were eating dinner at church last Wednesday night, I overheard a friend talking with her third-grade daughter about her school day.

Mom: What did you learn in school today?
Daughter: We talked about when two planes crashed into twin towers.
Mom: Oh yeah? What did you learn about it?
Daughter: We learned that 3,000 people died and another plane crashed in a field. 

The conversation when continues, but it hit me like a ton of bricks-- Realizing that to Katie {and her generation and every generation that follows} the attacks on 9/11 will merely be something they learn about in textbooks at school. And it really just hit me like a ton of bricks.

Now my sisters are quite a bit younger than me. They were in elementary school in 2001 {and Laura was actually celebrating her 10th  birthday the day of the terrorist attacks!} and while they were too young to really know what happened, they can both express how things were different that day. They knew *something* happened.

But when Katie mentioned learning about the planes crashing into the towers, it reminded me of the times when my mom would ask me about my day at school. Like, when Kennedy was shot, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, when Nazi Germany surrendered and people celebrated Victory across the word. The subjects I learned about in History class.

History.

I can imagine this is just how the people of generations of that time feel about me. I am sure that when December 7th passes by each year, that they remember that very day when Pearl Harbor was bombed-- where they were, how they felt, how the world changed.

I still remember that day in September.

I was a senior in high school, sitting in first hour when Mr. Ockenfels came in the room and said, "remember what you're doing right now. You will remember it for the rest of your life." The news websites were down from all of the traffic, so we listened to the news events of that day by radio. It was so confusing. What happened?! Why?? Another plane. Why?? After school, I waited in a line that went all the way down the street just to fill up with gasoline. I watched the news all night that evening after our scheduled volleyball game was cancelled.

But the thing that really matters, is that the next day- life went on. I went to school, my parents went to work. As did the rest of the world. We weren't going to let this horrific tragedy keep us down. Our nation joined together to pray for more people to be found, for the safety of the rescue workers, for our armed forces. Teams from all over the country went to the city to help piece back together the disaster area the terrorists left for us. We overcame. We stood united.

Life went on. I graduated, went to college. I married my college sweetheart. And now we have two children. Ten years has passed, but I will never forget.

We will never forget. 

I write this now. I want my children to know what it was like to celebrate this unfortunate anniversary. I want them to understand why we honor the lives lost on this day. I want them to be so proud of that pilot who crashed his plane into the field, the first responders who lost their lives helping others, the young men and women who lined up to enlist in the service. I want them to understand what happened that day- that it wasn't an accident, but planned and intentional.

Not to scare them or to taint their childlike view of our world, but to teach them that we have something worth fighting for. To teach them of our great freedoms in this country and what it means to do the right thing. To stick up for people. To understand that freedom comes at a cost and it is our responsibility to stick together and support each other. And lastly, to understand why Daddy decided to enlist to serve our country- that sometimes we must serve a greater purpose than our own. And even though it means that sometimes he has to be gone, it is because he is doing his part to keep us safe. To keep us all safe.

I love what Lara at Less Cake {More Frosting} created as a FREE printable. Just check out her site and read her touching posts as well. 

{Lastly, happy 20th birthday Laura!}