09/11/2026
๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ
It is hard to believe that an entire quarter of a century has passed since September 11, 2001. I remember exactly where I was, the feeling of disbelief, the feeling of wanting to get to my babies, the sadness and the confusion.
Today, I remember the nearly 3,000 lives that were taken far too soon. I remember the firefighters, police officers, first responders, military members, and ordinary people who became heroes in the most unimaginable circumstances. I remember the families who said goodbye that morning without knowing it would be the last time. And I remember the countless men and women who answered the call to serve our country in the years that followed.
But 25 years later, there is something else I find myself rememberingโand missing.
๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ญ๐ก...
I miss the way we looked at one another differently. The way neighbors became friends. The way people checked on each other, helped each other, prayed together, cried together, and stood together.
For a little while, it didn't matter where you came from, what you looked like, how much money you had, or what side of an issue you stood on.
๐บ๐ธ๐พ๐ฌ ๐พ๐ฌ๐น๐ฌ ๐จ๐ด๐ฌ๐น๐ฐ๐ช๐จ๐ต๐บ!! ๐บ๐ธ
Flags were everywhere. People were kinder. Strangers spoke to one another. We watched out for our neighbors. We thanked our first responders and our military. Churches were full. There was an overwhelming sense that although someone had tried to break us, ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ!
Out of one of the darkest days in our nation's history came an incredible amount of ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐, ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ ๐, ๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ.
๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐งโ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ.
I wish we could remember that ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.That we can disagree and still care about one another. That we can look out for the person next door. That we can choose kindness and compassion. And that loving this country doesn't mean believing it is perfectโit means recognizing how incredibly blessed we are to call it home. ๐บ๐ธ
So today, 25 years later, I remember.
I remember those we lost.
I honor those who ran toward danger when everyone else was running away.
I honor those who served and sacrificed afterward.
I pray for the families who have carried that loss for 25 years.
And I pray that we never forget not only what happened on September 11th, but who we became on September 12th.
May we find our way back to a little more of that ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โ๐๐๐
๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐บ๐ธ
๐ฐ ๐พ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฌ๐ฝ๐ฌ๐น ๐ญ๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ป. โค๏ธ๐ค๐
