Part II
Where were you on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11?
If you weren’t with your family, I hope you were with friends.
Friends can be very much a part of our family, don’t you think?
They’re the family members that we choose. ; )
We were here on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, “here” being the Cathedral of St. Paul. We were there for a couple of reasons: one, the Mass is always beautiful and two, they held a 9/11 memorial service half an hour before Mass.
That, too, was very, very beautiful…though I’ll admit to being just a bit unnerved at the thought of being in such a large public place on such an inauspicious anniversary.
Hello. My name is Margaret and I am prone to worry.
Good thing this guy was watching over us.
This is my friend, Tina. Hi Tina! She was there because her daughter sings in the Cathedral choir, which was amazing. We’re talking cello, violin, and even a harp. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven!
(Except I hadn’t died and gone to heaven.)
(Phew.)
In the photo, Tina is holding the son of my friend Cathie, who was there because her son marched in the procession with the Boy Scouts and her daughters, with the American Heritage Girls.
Got all that?
Cate, too, got to be in the procession because she had gotten her uniform on Saturday. She was thrilled!
And tried not to gloat about it to her sisters.
After the Mass, there was a reception on the front steps. There were cookies and fire trucks and lots of happy children running amok amok.
Best of all, there were bagpipes.
Is there anything more majestic than bagpipes? Is there anything more…mournful?
It was a beautiful end to a difficult weekend—difficult, certainly, because of the event we commemorating, but also difficult to confront the pain that this life and its losses bring.
I found myself thankful for my family;
I found myself thankful for my friends;
and I found myself very thankful for God, because without Him that day—any day, in fact—would be incredibly, unbearably, unthinkably hard.
Did you attend any special events this weekend? Or did you just hold your loved ones extra close?
held my loved ones extra close and watched a couple shows on the OWN network, there were a lot of great shows remembering 9/11 all day.
What a great event you went to.
You look great in that beautiful polka dot dress!! (love the shoes)
Beautiful family picture.
Your family photo is so beautiful! I hope you frame it. I find it so charming that (most of) your kids smile with their mouths closed. My kids are big teeth-showers 🙂
What beautiful photos! DH and I went to that Cathedral on our honeymoon, and again last year when we were in town for a family wedding. BEAUTIFUL!
I held my family extra close, and cried many tears. It still is an emotional event for me.
What a great looking bunch of scouts you have there eh!
I can't handle talking about 9/11 with my kids yet (the oldest is 8), so I actually tried to avoid things like this. There was a boy scout event that we went to to register my 1st grader, but I purposefully went late in case they were doing a memorial at the beginning. I'm not ready for them to know that we have things like 9/11 to worry about in our time.
How blessed you all were to have that beautiful event at the Cathedral!!
There was nothing special offered around here – husband had to work, so I took the opportunity to talk in more detail to our kids about it, we prayed many prayers throughout the day, and I shed so very many tears still. I am still very emotional about the whole tragic event.
Love the family photo – and your dress is all new with the shawl!! Beautiful!
Love and blessings~
We were in D.C. for a wedding on 9/10/2011. This meant that the bride's extended family and friends would board planes out of the D.C. airports on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I've flown on 9/11, out of Dulles. Didn't bother me. Yet I was crazy with worry about making this trip. I, a former flight attendant, worried for nine months about this trip! I don't worry about anything…ever. I tend to become like an ostrich and bury my head ignoring all troubling thoughts. Not this time! This worry all but ruined my entire summer and the lovely wedding. Saw the cathedral on approach into MSP and offered prayers of gratitude.
Sorry I am posting on this a week late. I've been a tad bit busy. I attended a memorial mass on the evening of 9/11, I watched the Memorial Serice from Ground Zero and listened for the names of my dear friends who were lost that day. It was difficult. I felt the anguish and pain all over again. I felt the fear that I felt that day 10 years ago, when my husband finally walked into the house at 10pm, after helping people all day, literally pulling them off the street into his building on Water Street to get them out of that war zone. On this 10th anniversary I am worried for my son, who is in Basic Training now, and will be deployed, that is a certain, just when we do not know yet. God Bless America!