what were you doing 7 years ago today?

September 11, 2001. I remember that day as if it were yesterday. I guess that's what a little bit of trauma will do to a person. But, who doesn't remember that day?
I was living quite a different life then. I was single, owned my own cute little house, had a cat named Sadie, drove a VW Jetta, and was enjoying life. Dan was an unknown entity at that point in time. (little did I know that we would find each other exactly 2 weeks later!) I was just starting my fifth year of teaching first grade at Aloha Park. Life was good.
I was one of the millions of Americans who first learned of the events unfolding from Matt Lauer and Katie Couric on the Today show. I remember getting ready to dry my hair at 6:03 and they were just starting to talk about the reports of the airplane into the first tower. I (being the news junkie that I am) kept checking back on the t.v. as I got ready for another day of work. Lunch in hand, I got in the car to make the 25 minute drive to my school. Do all of these people around me know what is going on? Are they listening to the radio? (I sure was....KWJJ with Mike and Amy) People, this is some crazy stuff! I recall looking at the other drivers' faces as I headed West to see if they were at all aware. Some people had 'the look'...others did not. It was an unsettling way to start the day.
Once I got to my school I remember tripping and falling on the way in the building..I think I was trying to get inside so fast so that I could continue to follow this story.
Teachers started arriving and everyone started talking. My teaching partner, Guillermo, had a t.v. in his classroom, so that's where everyone started to gather around. We were glued to the t.v. It just kept getting worse. The towers fell. The Pentagon. The plane in the field in Pennsylvania. We were all starting to feel very worried and freaked out, but had to pull it together because kids would be arriving in our classrooms in the next few minutes. The morning had to march on as usual. I remember at the end of the school day just wanting to get out of there and be home. Nothing felt safe.
Today kind of feels like it did 7 years ago...sunny, warm, and crisp with beautiful Oregon weather in September. I bet the never ending pile of pine needles is covering the sidewalk at the old house on 67th, just as they always did in early September. It's a day that we will never forget. I guess sometimes it takes something like this to remind us to reflect on our own past, and dip into the ol' memory well. That day stamped a feeling that comes around once a year, clear as can be. So, what were you doing 7 years ago today?