9/11 We Can't Forget - Family Days Tried And Tested

Today we remembered 9/11 with the children.

It’s strange that they were yet to be thought of, let alone born when it happened but it became very much part of their lives before it began.

The world as we knew it changed on 9/11, pretty much like the world as you know it changes when you have a child.

They need to know about the importance of the event and in us doing so we can hopefully keep the memory alive, pass it on. As awful as it is, this needs to be done.

We can’t forget. It’s not a possibility.

Today we went to the beach, it wasn’t really planned out.

We got up and kicked about at home most of the day. We did washing, played video games, chased the 9 months old around keeping her safe from her grazing ways. A normal day.

We finally all got dressed around 2.30pm. A very late start.

Obviously 9/11 has been on my mind. It has to be.

So we got ourselves sorted and headed to the beach with a takeaway on route.

This took place whilst I watched the dashboard clock and recounted the day 15 years ago. 15 years. That’s crazy.

And then I read an article whilst browsing Facebook, chatting with Mr FD (I multi-task) and tending with the herd of kids in the back of the car (I triple-task too).

It was an article on figures, lives lost, people injured, affected… And I didn’t need to read many figures because lives lost hit me.

A photo.

It slapped me.

2996.

(credit source Metro)

That’s the number of people that died as a result of 9/11.

2996.

Incomprehensible.

This is such an important thing. If you can try and comprehend it, just try, then maybe you can pass on the importance.

So, I tried to think of a way to give comprehension and thought that we could sit on the pebble beach where we were heading and collect pebbles. 2996, that’s how many we collected. All shapes, all sizes, all colours, just ordinary pebbles which had all united together from all over the world to live in harmony on one beach. A calm beautiful place and we sat on the beach united by love, and a little dysfunction but with absolutely no hate and we picked up pebbles together, we took turns to count and we took turns to play.

We picked one pebble to represent each life lost in the 9/11 attacks. We chatted, we remembered.

We filled two knee length sized 6 wellies with small pebbles.

We still don’t comprehend.

But in doing so we were able to give our children a comprehension and try and ensure the responsibility that we, along with them, have to never forget is always remembered.

15 years.

Today I was thankful for the ability to sit by the ocean with my babies. Terrorism is not OK.