Never Forget…

I have never been to New York, the Pentagon or Pennsylvania, but every year on September 11, I weep for the memories of those lost. I don’t know anyone who died, I haven’t been to ground zero, and I have no idea how I would have reacted if I had been there. I do know this: I am an American, as were they. No matter your ideas on whose fault it was, no matter what political party you belong to, no matter your religion… I think we can all agree that these attacks were horrific and changed our lives forever.

I was a sophomore in college on 9.11.01. I was getting ready for class, in the shower actually when the first plane hit. My entire shower caddy for no reason at all just fell off the shower head and all of my toiletries landed on my toes. Annoyed and in pain, I muttered to myself, this is not going to be a good day. 2 seconds after I had wrapped myself in a towel and prepared to apply my makeup, my roomate’s sister barrelled into our dorm room and frantically told me to turn on my TV. I tuned in just in time to see the second plane hit. It took me a long time to realize that this was real, this was really happening. But why? At 19 years old, I had not educated myself about the world much- except to know that I had lived in foreign countries due to my dad’s job, I spoke spanish and had a wider worldview than many of my fellow students at my tiny Christian college in Bethany, OK. I knew what it was like to live outside of the USA, and because of my sadness while I was gone, I was a girl who LOVED MY COUNTRY, still do, and could not understand why anyone else would hate it.

That day was crazy. Everyone panicked and booked it to 7-11 to fill up their gas tanks because relatives were calling with stories of $10/gallon gas and fears that Oklahoma City would be hit again. Chapel was cancelled, we all gathered together and cried and prayed and tried to make sense of it all. There were rants of the end times which made me mad and scared… I got a call from my aunt that my cousin who worked in the Pentagon was unreachable. That’s when I lost it. I went to the park and sat in my car and railed against God, the Muslims, the world. I didn’t feel any better. I didn’t feel any safer. I went back to my room to see images of desperate people flinging themselves off of buildings because they’d rather die like that than burn to death. I threw up. My aunt called to tell me that my cousin was alive and well. I went to class that night, where no one could concentrate. All of the emotion was dizzying, and just thinking of it today overwhelms me. I cannot imagine what it must be like today for those who were actually there and survived, for those who lost someone close to them, for those who saw it from their rooftops.

Time has calmed me- I know that God has a purpose for it somewhere, even if after 7 years we don’t know what it is. I know that not all Muslims are crazed Jihadists. I know the true depth of sacrifice our troops make to ensure this doesn’t happen again. I don’ think I’ll ever be able to not cry when I see the images from that day. I will never be able to really convey what my heart and mind were going through that day. I will always instill respect and love of country into my daughter, I will always be grateful for the sacrifice of people who put people and country above their own lives and fight to keep America safe. I will always remember the heroes of 9.11.01, and I will never forget.

Click here to remember with me. What about you? Where were you on 9/11 and how did it impact you? I’d love for you to share…

Fairy tale lessons…

The Emperor’s New Suit by Hans Christian Andersen (1837)

MANY, many years ago lived an emperor, who thought so much of new clothes that he spent all his money in order to obtain them; his only ambition was to be always well dressed. He did not care for his soldiers, and the theatre did not amuse him; the only thing, in fact, he thought anything of was to drive out and show a new suit of clothes. He had a coat for every hour of the day; and as one would say of a king “He is in his cabinet,” so one could say of him, “The emperor is in his dressing-room.”

The great city where he resided was very gay; every day many strangers from all parts of the globe arrived. One day two swindlers came to this city; they made people believe that they were weavers, and declared they could manufacture the finest cloth to be imagined. Their colours and patterns, they said, were not only exceptionally beautiful, but the clothes made of their material possessed the wonderful quality of being invisible to any man who was unfit for his office or unpardonably stupid.

“That must be wonderful cloth,” thought the emperor. “If I were to be dressed in a suit made of this cloth I should be able to find out which men in my empire were unfit for their places, and I could distinguish the clever from the stupid. I must have this cloth woven for me without delay.” And he gave a large sum of money to the swindlers, in advance, that they should set to work without any loss of time. They set up two looms, and pretended to be very hard at work, but they did nothing whatever on the looms. They asked for the finest silk and the most precious gold-cloth; all they got they did away with, and worked at the empty looms till late at night.

“I should very much like to know how they are getting on with the cloth,” thought the emperor. But he felt rather uneasy when he remembered that he who was not fit for his office could not see it. Personally, he was of opinion that he had nothing to fear, yet he thought it advisable to send somebody else first to see how matters stood. Everybody in the town knew what a remarkable quality the stuff possessed, and all were anxious to see how bad or stupid their neighbors were.

“I shall send my honest old minister to the weavers,” thought the emperor. “He can judge best how the stuff looks, for he is intelligent, and nobody understands his office better than he.”

The good old minister went into the room where the swindlers sat before the empty looms. “Heaven preserve us!” he thought, and opened his eyes wide, “I cannot see anything at all,” but he did not say so. Both swindlers requested him to come near, and asked him if he did not admire the exquisite pattern and the beautiful colours, pointing to the empty looms. The poor old minister tried his very best, but he could see nothing, for there was nothing to be seen. “Oh dear,” he thought, “can I be so stupid? I should never have thought so, and nobody must know it! Is it possible that I am not fit for my office? No, no, I cannot say that I was unable to see the cloth.”

“Now, have you got nothing to say?” said one of the swindlers, while he pretended to be busily weaving.

“Oh, it is very pretty, exceedingly beautiful,” replied the old minister looking through his glasses. “What a beautiful pattern, what brilliant colours! I shall tell the emperor that I like the cloth very much.”

“We are pleased to hear that,” said the two weavers, and described to him the colours and explained the curious pattern. The old minister listened attentively, that he might relate to the emperor what they said; and so he did.

Now the swindlers asked for more money, silk and gold-cloth, which they required for weaving. They kept everything for themselves, and not a thread came near the loom, but they continued, as hitherto, to work at the empty looms.

Soon afterwards the emperor sent another honest courtier to the weavers to see how they were getting on, and if the cloth was nearly finished. Like the old minister, he looked and looked but could see nothing, as there was nothing to be seen.

“Is it not a beautiful piece of cloth?” asked the two swindlers, showing and explaining the magnificent pattern, which, however, did not exist.

“I am not stupid,” said the man. “It is therefore my good appointment for which I am not fit. It is very strange, but I must not let any one know it;” and he praised the cloth, which he did not see, and expressed his joy at the beautiful colours and the fine pattern. “It is very excellent,” he said to the emperor.

Everybody in the whole town talked about the precious cloth. At last the emperor wished to see it himself, while it was still on the loom. With a number of courtiers, including the two who had already been there, he went to the two clever swindlers, who now worked as hard as they could, but without using any thread.

“Is it not magnificent?” said the two old statesmen who had been there before. “Your Majesty must admire the colours and the pattern.” And then they pointed to the empty looms, for they imagined the others could see the cloth.

“What is this?” thought the emperor, “I do not see anything at all. That is terrible! Am I stupid? Am I unfit to be emperor? That would indeed be the most dreadful thing that could happen to me.”

“Really,” he said, turning to the weavers, “your cloth has our most gracious approval;” and nodding contentedly he looked at the empty loom, for he did not like to say that he saw nothing. All his attendants, who were with him, looked and looked, and although they could not see anything more than the others, they said, like the emperor, “It is very beautiful.” And all advised him to wear the new magnificent clothes at a great procession which was soon to take place. “It is magnificent, beautiful, excellent,” one heard them say; everybody seemed to be delighted, and the emperor appointed the two swindlers “Imperial Court weavers.”

The whole night previous to the day on which the procession was to take place, the swindlers pretended to work, and burned more than sixteen candles. People should see that they were busy to finish the emperor’s new suit. They pretended to take the cloth from the loom, and worked about in the air with big scissors, and sewed with needles without thread, and said at last: “The emperor’s new suit is ready now.”

The emperor and all his barons then came to the hall; the swindlers held their arms up as if they held something in their hands and said: “These are the trousers!” “This is the coat!” and “Here is the cloak!” and so on. “They are all as light as a cobweb, and one must feel as if one had nothing at all upon the body; but that is just the beauty of them.”

“Indeed!” said all the courtiers; but they could not see anything, for there was nothing to be seen.

“Does it please your Majesty now to graciously undress,” said the swindlers, “that we may assist your Majesty in putting on the new suit before the large looking-glass?”

The emperor undressed, and the swindlers pretended to put the new suit upon him, one piece after another; and the emperor looked at himself in the glass from every side.

“How well they look! How well they fit!” said all. “What a beautiful pattern! What fine colours! That is a magnificent suit of clothes!”

The master of the ceremonies announced that the bearers of the canopy, which was to be carried in the procession, were ready.

“I am ready,” said the emperor. “Does not my suit fit me marvellously?” Then he turned once more to the looking-glass, that people should think he admired his garments.

The chamberlains, who were to carry the train, stretched their hands to the ground as if they lifted up a train, and pretended to hold something in their hands; they did not like people to know that they could not see anything.

The emperor marched in the procession under the beautiful canopy, and all who saw him in the street and out of the windows exclaimed: “Indeed, the emperor’s new suit is incomparable! What a long train he has! How well it fits him!” Nobody wished to let others know he saw nothing, for then he would have been unfit for his office or too stupid. Never emperor’s clothes were more admired.

“But he has nothing on at all,” said a little child at last. “Good heavens! listen to the voice of an innocent child,” said the father, and one whispered to the other what the child had said. “But he has nothing on at all,” cried at last the whole people. That made a deep impression upon the emperor, for it seemed to him that they were right; but he thought to himself, “Now I must bear up to the end.” And the chamberlains walked with still greater dignity, as if they carried the train which did not exist.

 

The moral that I draw from this story to avoid the blindness. It’s funny how there was nothing to be blind to- no “clothes”, only the idea that the Emperor could not be wrong, and the people were scared of looking stupid if they objected to his idea of beauty.

How many people do you know who are scared of what people will think if they dared to say they like President Bush, support the troops or oppose abortion in these times of Mr. “Si Se Puede”? Are you willing to be the voice of the child to speak out with the truth? Obama (aka the Messiah of America) has a huge following, no doubt, but as the forum at Saddleback Church showed this past weekend, for all his shiny smiles and carefully constructed words, there isn’t much substance to the man. Masses wanting change should not immediately flock to the first guy who dares them to hope for it.

Wolves in sheep’s clothing, all-knowing Emperors… anyone thinking what I’m thinking? Too good to be true!

 

Well, thanks Nazi trainer. You kept me from getting attacked.

Yesterday I had an appointment with my trainer at the gym right after work, but I got a really bad headache before I left. I had planned on going straight home and rescheduling, but Ryan said I should go, that it might help my headache to work out, so I went. She was really tough on me! My arms are really sore today. Anyways, I am glad I did, because when I got home I saw that the door leading to the garage from the house was wide open and my dog Stella was standing in the middle of the garage.

 

 

Exasperated, I pulled in and figured that Ryan might not have shut it hard enough and the wind might have blown it open. I walked into the house and saw that the back door leading to the back yard was open, and then I got REALLY irritated with him! I proceeded to shut and lock the doors, get Aubrey out of her carseat and play with her in the living room when I noticed that the lights in our bedroom were on. You all know that I am BIG on “If you aren’t USING them, turn the lights off!” and it actually goes beyond going green, it’s a moral conviction for me. So you can imagine how much more irritated I became when I assumed my husband had left all the lights on this morning. He got home and I proceeded to reprimand him for leaving the doors open and the lights on and he was very confused, knowing that he has made an extra effort to conserve energy.

 

I decided to go take a shower and that’s when I noticed that my closet had been completely ripped apart. I asked Ryan if he had been looking for anything and he said no, and came back and that’s when he noticed that his closet had been ripped apart and that his gun safe had been tampered with. He had 3 guns stolen. Those were the only things missing. I had several things that would have been annoying to lose, but no other rooms had been tampered with.

So, naturally, we started freaking out a little bit. I called the police but apparently yesterday the warm weather made everyone want to beat their wives and shoot each other because the cops had a lot of calls and he did not arrive until 9 pm. In the meantime we didn’t touch anything and talked to the neighbors, one of which said he had been home since 2 working on his garden and didn’t see anything weird. He also said his truck had been broken into several times, and instead of taking money or a credit card that was in there, they took a clipboard and tools. He thinks it’s a bunch of teenagers that live down the street. Which, if that’s the case, I am wondering what kind of teen would go straight for the guns and not the computer or ipod, so please pray that they will not use them for violence. But the other option is that we had someone work on our garage door about a month ago, someone who would know how to get into the garage, when we aren’t home, and had tools. If a regular truck had pulled up, opened the garage with a remote, the neighbor wouldn’t have thought anything of it. We’re looking into it.

 

The cop dusted for prints and examined the doors. No prints, no sign of forced entry. He informed us that if you go up and down your street and push your own garage door opener, it will inevitably open other people’s garage doors. I never lock the door from the house to the garage bc I normally have the carseat and a diaper bag. They probably got in that way, and when they heard me get home, they ran out the back door and that’s why that one was open. I am SO GLAD I went to the gym after work. So, if you don’t lock that door in your own home, it might be wise to start. I know I did this morning AND we are getting the locks changed.

 

I am very grateful that we don’t have to deal with identity theft- that would be a nightmare. But it disturbs me that these people apparently knew Ryan had guns and went specifically for them. Either they got lucky, going straight to the master bedroom or they did it on purpose. I know not everyone agrees with hunting for sport, but I always felt a little more secure in my home, knowing that if someone did break in while we were home, Ryan could protect us. Now the very things meant to protect are gone, and hopefully only for profit and not violence. Hunting to Ryan is so much more than killing and animal and using it for food- it represents his introduction to, love and respect for nature and wildlife, as well as wonderful bonding moments with his father, grandfather and friends.

 

Needless to say, we are changing the locks today and getting a security system with cameras this weekend. Please pray that I can stop being scared to go to my own home soon! And that they get caught. If they sell them to a pawn shop anywhere in America, it will show up on a system and its pretty likely that any justice remaining in this situation will be had. Its just that, they took more than stuff, you know? They took my sense of a safe home away.

 

(Oh, and I apologized profusely to Ryan for yelling at him about the lights )