It’s funny how thinking back to that day, you know EXACTLY where you were, what you were doing, what song was playing on the radio and what the weather was like. I was at work sitting at my desk when a woman came in and said “a plane just hit the world trade center”. At first, we all thought it was just a stray plane that wrecked into it. It didn’t take us long to learn differently. Soon after, we heard of a second plane going into the other building. We all rushed to the only office in the building with a TV. I stood in that office, crammed full of people shoulder to shoulder, and watched as the towers fell. The room was completely silent as people tried to wrap their minds around what was really happening. We then heard of the third plane and we were told they were closing the building. I worked for a state agency so they erred on the side of caution and closed the building.

My first thought, once I realized we were under attack, was I wanted my babies in my arms. I wanted them with me so I could protect them. I wanted to hug and kiss them and keep them safe. I wanted to be surrounded by my family and have my husband’s safe arms around me. I left work and went straight to pick my kids up from daycare. I took them home and spent the rest of the day snuggling and cuddling.

My son remembers this day differently, as one of my “not so stellar” mama moments. I was in a hurry that morning and was running late for work. I had a toddler and a baby, mornings weren’t my friend most days. I was rushing and shushed them in the sitters door and left, forgetting to kiss them goodbye. I know, the thought of that now makes my eyes well with tears. The sitter had the news on, as everyone in the nation did, and my son didn’t really understand what was going on. He just knew it was something bad. He spent the morning crying because his Mama didn’t kiss him. Isn’t it horrible that he still, to this day, remembers that clear as a bell? Sigh. What that did do was make me slow down and take that extra 10 seconds to kiss my littles goodbye, even if it meant being late for work. Actually, I still to this day kiss my kids before bed every night and before they go to school in the morning.

I was never more proud to be an American than I was that day. That evening we got out our American flag and hung it on our front porch. Basically every home or business you drove past had either a flag hanging or a sign showing their support for America.

That day we bonded as a nation. That day we knew, as a nation, that we needed God, we needed prayer and we needed hope. But oh, how quick we are to forget. Today, remember that day. Remember how quick we were to fall to our knees and cry out to God. And thank Him, for everything.

Ps…And kiss your littles. Always.

Tuesday, September 8 was International Literacy Day. Grammarly is celebrating the initiative all week and reached out to me to help raise awareness on my blog.

Illiteracy is so much more than just a lack of reading skills. I was shocked to see that even in the United States, there are 32,000,000 adults who can’t read!  This breaks my heart, as reading is one of the things I’ve enjoyed crazy amounts my entire life.

Check out their infographic below on illiteracy in the world. There are so many ways you can help contribute to your local community, your country or the world, even by simply sharing the statistics and raising awareness. Let’s work together and help raise awareness for illiteracy!

Grammarly is a fabulous service and they are dedicated to fighting off plagiarism.  You can check out their services HERE.