Lest We Forget

I turned on Local News 8 to check the weather so I knew what to dress Macady in. She was 18 months old, sleeping in her crib as I watched the second plane hit the WTC tower. I sat at the side of my bed with Pard at my feet and stared in stunned disbelief. It wasn’t possible. The news anchors were silent and I hurriedly scrambled for the remote to change the channel. All the channels were loaded with images of burning towers, screaming people, black smoke and streaming terror across the screen. My phone rang and I jumped out of my skin. My friend Mariah, herself with a baby girl just six weeks younger than mine, crying frantically and asking me, “Are you just holding your baby right now???” No, I thought to myself, she can’t wake up right now. I didn’t want her to wake up to this. I didn’t realize I was crying until I hung up the phone and tears dripped from my face. I sat, disbelieving the images that are forever burned into the American psyche. I spent the rest of the day at my mum’s house, TV on, babe in arms. I don’t think I put her down all day.

To this day, my stomach still lurches when I see the video footage. Tears fall unbidden when I hear the screams of New York. I choke when I see those poor souls hanging from the buildings, screaming for help that couldn’t come and jumping as their final resort. I keep September 11, 2001 in my thoughts and prayers. I pray for this country and for those lost to a war that seems never-ending. For the families who lost, who continue to lose. For soldiers who came home draped in a flag, and those who came home, but who aren’t really here. For those in charge of this country, that one day, the right decisions will be made. I pray for those children who are growing up with one or two fewer parents. For the search and rescue dogs that have, all but one remaining, died from cancer – inhaling the smoke and debris from the carnage as they worked through the months following. For those who went in to save lives and in turn, gave their own. For every person involved and affected by the attacks, they are never far from my thoughts.

I stand silent, hand over heart as the Flag is displayed, and cry shamelessly every time I hear our National Anthem. I want to thank every soldier and vet I’ve ever met, and those I haven’t. Except that pride and gratefulness aren’t enough and I don’t think they ever will be. So I simply promise that I will never forget. May God Bless America.

So long Summer...

Where, oh where did summer go? It was only here five minutes, it seems. July rushed by, August was over before it began and we are now spiraling headlong into the second week of September. The nights are drawing in faster and the loss of daylight makes my heart sad :( BUT! Never fear, we made the best of it while we could. Obviously so busy, I didn't blog at all due to the massive amounts of sunshine I soaked in For a quick update, mostly so I don't forget.....Macady spent all summer at Kammi's house, riding horses, babysitting, playing in the sandpile and the swingset, with Dash and in the irrigation water. We rode lots, BBQ'd like crazy, worked in the garden a whole bunch, spent a night out on the tramp (I totally wussed out and went in at 3am), had lots of campfires and roasted too many marshmallows to count, spent a weekend at the cabin with our dearest friends from church which was the.most.amazing weekend, lost and found our two broody hens who made a nest in the rushes by the coop and disappeared for weeks until we found them, had an amazing Independence Day with the guys from our ward that was EPIC!, popped popcorn, watched movies, went the drive-in, weeded the MIL's flowerbed and added some beautiful plants and flowers for her, made fruit pizza and mango salsa and enjoyed every delicious bite, slept in on lazy mornings, ate fresh peas in a pod until our bellies ached, had a flood in the basement 4 days before my mum was due to fly in,  had a huge garage sale and in every literal sense of the word "cleaned house," - 10 years worth of stuff and my mom was there to help, I broke the camera and have no more pictures, decided to open a new chapter in my life and began training as a doula, started Dash's training and he is a pill, but he's going to be amazing when he's all grown up (and I still miss Pard so much and it's hard to not compare them), got Paisley spayed, yippee! and Maggie and I have clicked this year, the last 5 rides have been uber amazing and I can't wait to see what's next with her......hmmm, what else? Macady (my baby!) started 6th grade this year, and I am still in denial about that......She still rides every day, and has recently fallen in love with a little chestnut called Peanut, who she promptly renamed Lil' Red. She has a barrel race final tomorrow night (she's sitting 2nd in points right now), shows at the fair on Saturday and neither of us can wait for the food and everything that the fair has to offer! That about sums it up. By the time September rolled around, I had enough strawberries to make a few pints of freezer jam, made 18 pints of beans and they are still growing like mad,  the zucchini, squash and tomatoes are coming on like crazy.....I seriously cannot wait to bottle the next batch of everything! I absolutely love Fall and Harvest Time.....I just don't like that winter is on its' heels. We have such long, cold winters and I shudder to think of the next 9 months. But, with every season comes a job to do, a craft to make, a book to read, a horse to ride. Here's to all our tomorrows!