I Remember

*opens with moment of silence for those lost in September 11 attacks years ago*

It's hard to believe that the horrific attacks of 9/11 occurred 11 years ago. I'm not a New Yorker, but I am an American, and that day is seared into memory like no other.  So many lives lost, so many tears shed. The footage was so raw, it hurt to watch. And yet we did. We watched, trying to understand a tragedy so senseless that it defied comprehension. It still does.

This morning I read a post from the perspective of a New Yorker who witnessed the attack first hand. It  made the morning feel--haunting. Maybe because the weather outside reminds me of the weather that 9/11 morning--clear blue skies, sun shining, birds chirping in a quiet neighborhood. And like eleven years ago, my kids are off to school, leaving me alone in a quiet house. Back then, I only had one son, and was pregnant with my second. I was busy "nesting' while my oldest was at a mother's morning out, and when I turned on the Today show, I was shocked. And for me, the beauty of that day outside stood in such stark contrast to the horror unfolding across the country that it heightened the sense of surreal.

So as I look outside right now on a bluebird Florida sky, I'm feeling blessed and melancholy and quietly reflective. And it doesn't feel quite right to have a query crit today.

But tomorrow, send 'em in. (Details in tomorrow's post.) I'll be waiting. :)