today is 9/11.
seven years ago i was actually sitting right where i am now logging on AOL and seeing the headline about the attacks on the world trade center. i turned on the TV and watched in horror as the new york skyline burned and people were being evacuated.
so much has changed since then... and a lot of my life right now is the way it is because of that fateful day seven years ago. paul is a soldier because of 9/11. i am a military wife because of 9/11. there is a war in iraq because of 9/11. paul is fighting in that war because of 9/11.
how fitting it was to go to my father's naturalization ceremony. i saw more than 6,100 people of all ethnicity embrace the US as their country and take the oath of naturalization. i saw another 6,000+ waiting for the next ceremony. the judge cried. she said that she was glad now that this day can have another meaning for her... 9/11 would be a day she mourned the losses of fellow americans and a day that she celebrated the welcoming of more than 18,000 new americans.
it was very emotional for me. although the reasoning of my father gaining US citizenship is not entirely patriotic, it made me appreciate what i've had all along. it made me think of paul, gloria, and steve. it made me think of why paul joined the army. it made me think of why we made this decision together although it may put him in harms way. it made me even MORE proud of him.
i remember someone saying on a japanese program that the US is the only country where we can go in and visit where the president lives (technically). we can openly protest a war we don't agree with without feeling the pressure to agree with the government. you can start with nothing but have all you hope for with hard work in this country.
this country is so great.
seven years ago i was actually sitting right where i am now logging on AOL and seeing the headline about the attacks on the world trade center. i turned on the TV and watched in horror as the new york skyline burned and people were being evacuated.
so much has changed since then... and a lot of my life right now is the way it is because of that fateful day seven years ago. paul is a soldier because of 9/11. i am a military wife because of 9/11. there is a war in iraq because of 9/11. paul is fighting in that war because of 9/11.
how fitting it was to go to my father's naturalization ceremony. i saw more than 6,100 people of all ethnicity embrace the US as their country and take the oath of naturalization. i saw another 6,000+ waiting for the next ceremony. the judge cried. she said that she was glad now that this day can have another meaning for her... 9/11 would be a day she mourned the losses of fellow americans and a day that she celebrated the welcoming of more than 18,000 new americans.
it was very emotional for me. although the reasoning of my father gaining US citizenship is not entirely patriotic, it made me appreciate what i've had all along. it made me think of paul, gloria, and steve. it made me think of why paul joined the army. it made me think of why we made this decision together although it may put him in harms way. it made me even MORE proud of him.
i remember someone saying on a japanese program that the US is the only country where we can go in and visit where the president lives (technically). we can openly protest a war we don't agree with without feeling the pressure to agree with the government. you can start with nothing but have all you hope for with hard work in this country.
this country is so great.
posted by mollie at 4:29 PM
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