remembering
In the midst of this crazy life, memories of 9/11 still sting the corners of my eyes and the depth of my heart. I forgot that it would become a history lesson. To those of us alive when it happened, and old enough to understand what was happening, we each have our recollection of what happened the very moment we found out that people were attacking other people. Why? We'll never really know. All I know is that both of my kids came home from school talking all about it. My 8 and 6 year old children. It was surreal. They told me all about what had happened. It was their history lesson.
They asked me how I felt on that day, and where I had been, and had I watched it all on TV? Yes, babies, I watched it on TV, next to a girl I didn't know, in our college campus coffee shop. I was shaking, but she was sobbing, because her uncle was on the 83rd floor.
"Mommy, why did those guys do it? My teacher said they were Muslims. What is "Muslim"? "
"Buddy, Muslims are a group of people who believe in something. You know how we call ourselves "Christians" because that's our religion? Their religion is very similar to ours. They use some different words and a different book to study, but they love God like we do. And they are good, good people. Every group of people has some bad guys in it. Every group. And so our job is to love others, to be kind to others, and to respect others, and really, that's the best way to help the bad guys to not be bad anymore. But some will stay bad, and they will do bad things, and sometimes, that's just the way the world is. So we just keep on living, and bringing light to the dark places, with our kindness."
"okay mom. That sounds like the best way, kind of like being nice to bullies and showing them that being mean doesn't work."
You got it, babies. That's exactly what it's like.
They asked me how I felt on that day, and where I had been, and had I watched it all on TV? Yes, babies, I watched it on TV, next to a girl I didn't know, in our college campus coffee shop. I was shaking, but she was sobbing, because her uncle was on the 83rd floor.
"Mommy, why did those guys do it? My teacher said they were Muslims. What is "Muslim"? "
"Buddy, Muslims are a group of people who believe in something. You know how we call ourselves "Christians" because that's our religion? Their religion is very similar to ours. They use some different words and a different book to study, but they love God like we do. And they are good, good people. Every group of people has some bad guys in it. Every group. And so our job is to love others, to be kind to others, and to respect others, and really, that's the best way to help the bad guys to not be bad anymore. But some will stay bad, and they will do bad things, and sometimes, that's just the way the world is. So we just keep on living, and bringing light to the dark places, with our kindness."
"okay mom. That sounds like the best way, kind of like being nice to bullies and showing them that being mean doesn't work."
You got it, babies. That's exactly what it's like.
This is why you are my sisterwife. Because you say really beautiful things like this that get me weepy, and you have such a good heart. (Also because of our mutual love for Bono.)
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely weird answering questions of children about the whole event. I imagine it's like Pearl Harbor was for us. It was sad to learn about, but it didn't directly touch us and we didn't live through that horror.