Remembering How We Learned

 

     So here it is ten years later and I’m sitting outside feeling the breeze of the wind blowing in a different front.

     I remember painting our home together with our youngest daughter when our oldest called from Colorado frantically explaining about planes flying into buildings and how on every channel the image repeatedly played.

     We had just moved into our home here on five acres and had no cable or satellite hookups and our stereo system was still neatly packed away in boxes.  We never thought about turning on the radio as it had been so long since we enjoyed peace and quiet listening to sounds only nature can provide.

     Today as I listen to wind blow through the canopy surrounding us, I wonder what the new front will look like as the weather patterns become more erratic in nature.

     I also wonder who else is playing remember when.  The bigger questions for me are, how were you affected?  What changes have you made to your life, and are you safer for it?

     I know for us homeland security played a major part in the changes we made and it began here at home.  Securing our food supply was on the top of the list and we’re still learning things to make it better.

     Baby steps taken over a 10-year period will definitely teach you how to walk away from empire and stand strong against the wind.  Never in my life have I fallen so hard yet been able to get up again and take another swing.  After this long I know the game will never end no matter how many runs I score, but it never stops me from playing.

     Punching a time clock for 30 years taught me discipline that has served me well, but no lesson compares to what I learned after September 11, 2001.

     I sit here outdoors feeling the temperature drop as the day goes on and I know darkness is just around the corner as fall is not far away.