10th Anniversary of 9/11

September 3, 2011

Remembering 9/11
A message from Betty Nielsen, Freedom Quilts Founder

I never would have thought that 10 years ago, I would be taking on the task of starting Freedom Quilts. Then again, ten years ago I didn’t know that the project would mushroom into what it is today. I had no idea that we would still be carrying on the mission of comforting 9/11 and fallen soldiers’ families. September 11, 2001 forever changed the lives of my husband and myself.

That day changed all our lives.

For families who lost a loved one, they live with the pain and hardship of not being able to see, feel and hear the joy their love ones brought to the family’s life.  They remember 9/11 as the day their love one was murdered.  They remember the pain. They think about what could have been if their loved one had not been taken from them.

For the rest of us, as we get closer to 9/11 we start thinking about where we were on that day. We remember how flags were everywhere.  We remember how the churches were full and how we all stood united and did something to give to those who were hurting.

Now, ten years later, will we bring back the flags to show we are still very much united? Will we remember how our country was in sorrow for those who were lost that day? Will we take time to pray for the families who lost so much that day? Will we go on with life as if nothing ever happened?

I know 9/11 changed my life, and I know it will never be the same. Though I did not lose a love one, I felt pain in my heart. I felt a need to reach out. Ten years later, I still feel that pain, and I know how important it is to continue to reaching out.

Will I ever forget that day? No. Perhaps it’s because I had the honor of visiting with so many families of 9/11 — watching their reaction and trying to understand how they would survive this horror in history. Perhaps is it simply because I am an American, and together, we suffered.

I hope that on this 10th anniversary of 9/11, everyone will take time to stop what they are doing and remember the victims who died that day and the families who still have to go on.

Together, let us take time to honor those who died and to remember the families who were left behind. Let us think of those who serve our country to protect us all.  This 10th anniversary is a time to reflect on the pain we all felt that day and to stand united again as we did on September 11, 2001.