My 09.11.01

Greetings -
As we reflect today on the American Tragedy of 9.11.01 Kenneth and I reflect on a very different 09.11.01  At the time Kenneth and I were both working for Walt Disney World - we had been seeing each other for a few months and 09.11.01 was the day I was scheduled for surgery at Celebration Hospital for endometrosis.  My recollections of 09.11.01 are small (at best!) When Matt Lauer came on the T.V.  about the first plane hitting the world trade center  I was being sedated for surgery.  I woke up to news that the pentagon had been hit and that Celebration Hospital was being shut down to any voluntarily scheduled surgery.  Celebration was the fall out shelter should anything happen and Walt Disney World and so they needed to prepare in case there was to be an attack on Walt Disney World.  It turns out I was the only elective surgery to have taken place that day because of the attacks.  While America was wrapped in the tragedy unfolding on TV Kenneth and I were learning that a biological child was not in my future (remember Kenneth and I had only been together a few months so who knew if he would stick around with this news!!!)  And yet there was peace amidst the tears there was the belief that God had a different type of family in store for me.  And so we headed back to my apartment - roads bare of cars, news blaring about the terrorists and our own silence.  Today 10 years later I look back on that day as a new beginning - AMERICA rose to the challenge and was not defeated by those terrorists - Kenneth did eventually propose and we were married - and now on this 10th anniversary we have 2 AMAZING boys from Ethiopia that are not only our pride and joy but also our rise to a challenge.  Tonight we will talk to the boys about 09.11.01 - we will tell them about the city that Uncle Josh and Au ntie Megan lives in, we will tell them about the boys and girls that lost their moms and dads that day, we will talk about the heros that came when they were called and we will tell them how it began the journey to today.  From our family to yours we pray for God's blessings and peace during a monumental moment in time.

Wishing you a MAGICAL day ~
Courtney