A 9 - 11 Birthday

Today is the eleventh anniversary of 9 - 11 - 2001 and my fifty-third birthday.

Last year, as I read the New York Times articles addressing the tenth anniversary, I gathered that the country was ready to move on-- not in the sense of forgetting, but more in the sense of a settling of clouds of dust and debris that have been swirling around in our minds for ten years. Today on the editorial page of the Times, there is one simple but elegant editorial arranged in the shape of two dark towers.

Last year I began a tradition to mark the anniversary. For ten years I have been reserved about my date of birth, out of respect for the survivors and the lost. Then I read about a girl who was born on that day and started a blog to communicate with others who share the birthday. I found her blog and read it and sent her a greeting. And I made a donation to Beyond the Eleventh, founded by two 9 - 11 survivors, that provides support to widows in Afghanistan. I was inspired by their willingness to reach out to other women whose lives have been changed by war. I will continue the tradition of making a donation to an organization with a healing agenda. It is a small gesture, but it is important to me and perhaps it will send a vibration along a wire somewhere that will ultimately make a sound.

2001 fell during a decade of loss in our family. We felt the accrual of one loss after another; the nation mourned thousands at once. It was hard to believe the pendulum would swing back, but it did, and we have celebrated two weddings and two births in the past four years. Today has been a good day. The kind wishes have meant more to me than anyone could know.