A Trip Home: Remembering 9-11-2001

I recently took a trip back to where I grew up, in northern New Jersey, and to the city that I relate to as "mine," New York City. I want to say that I do not consider myself a "New Yorker," since I technically lived across the river. Also, I have now lived away from there longer than I lived there, but it still has a special place and connection in my heart and mind.

It had been seven years since I was up there and for several reasons, it was time for me to go back. I'll get to that in another post soon, but today, on the 11th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Flight 93, I will start with my visit to the 9-11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan.

My friend made plans for her family and I to go to the memorial on Labor Day. We drove into the city from New Jersey and my friend's daughter said something about how beautiful the Manhattan skyline is (she has lived there all of her 15 years of life). I had to agree. But it still seems strange to me that the Twin Towers are no longer in the skyline.

I don't know how many times I visited the World Trade Center, which actually included several other buildings besides the two that came down. I have several memories of taking friends and out-of-town family members to the top of the WTC to see the spectacular views. The elevator ride made your stomach drop. You could see a long way from up there (although my favorite panoramic view is still the one from the top of the Empire State Building because you can see further north in Manhattan from there).

On the day we went to the memorial, I didn't really recognize the area and there is a lot of construction going on around there, rebuilding some of the surrounding buildings, including the new Freedom Tower. Once we went through the tight security to enter the memorial area, I was immediately drawn to the first fountain, which was the footprint of the South Tower. I walked all around it and looked at some of the names engraved in the granite ledge. I looked down into the infinity fountains from every angle and took some pictures. It felt sobering to me, as I think it should to everyone who visits.

We walked to the North Fountain and walked around it as well. We had gone just a little way around when I found the name of my former neighbor on my street who had died that day. Along another side, I found the name of the younger brother of one of our high school classmates who also lost his life that day.

At some point during our time at the memorial and maybe while driving to and from Manhattan, we talked about our memories of 9-11-01. Where we were when we heard the news. What we did the rest of the day. How we felt. Our three kids (my friend has two teenagers) were very young:  ages 4 and 6 (her son and Daniel are the same age). They don't really remember life before 9-11. To my nieces and other children for generations to come, the attacks will be something they read about in their history book (or online).

The museum is not completed/open yet, but we got to see a couple of things in the visitor center. One thing that was displayed was the fire helmet pictured below. I do not want our generation or future generations to forget the sacrifices and heroism of the responders who were doing their job that day. I do not want us to forget the innocent victims who went to work that day and didn't come home. I do not want us to forget about the families and friends who are continuing to live their lives, but have to do it without their loved one.

I didn't get a full shot of this because the line was moving to get into the memorial.

The corner views give you the best idea of how big the fountains are.

The white, slanted building is the museum that has not opened yet.

Freedom Tower

Tommy Bowden lived on my street.

One of the things I remember from 2001 is that I was doing the Beth Moore Bible Study, Breaking Free, with a group of women from church and on the night of September 11, I read a focal passage from that study that taught me that Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted, to comfort those who mourn, to rebuild the ruins, for His glory.

Please take time to read Isaiah 61:1-4 below (and the whole chapter sometime on your own) and pray for the families and friends of those who lost loved ones on that day in 2001. Pray for all of us to know Jesus in the ways that He came for us and to know that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday (on 9-11-01), today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
² to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
⁴ They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

Access-Life Expo 2012

A couple of weekends ago, I was able to go participate in another Access-Life Expo in Dandridge, TN. My friends, Doug and Leanne Goddard, are the leaders of this ministry to people and families affected by disabilities. There are several of these events that take place in different areas of the country throughout the year and it is a highlight of my year to be able to volunteer and be a small part of what God is doing.

It's always fun to get to visit with Doug and Leanne and to serve alongside them, as well as our other friends, the Umbarger family. (I neglected to get a picture with Doug in it this year--oops!) It's awesome to see how it all comes together each year, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, and how God has grown this event in the three years it has been held in Dandridge. This year there were a total of 650 who attended the event, either as a volunteer or a participant.

My role as a volunteer has been to help with the photography of the event. There are "roving" photographers who take candid shots throughout the day, as well as some photographers who are stationed at the dock fishing area to capture shots of people catching fish (some for the first time in their lives). I helped at the photo tent, where we took pictures of participants standing by a boat or with their faces showing in some fun stand-up cut-out props. Some of the photos from the day are printed out and the participants can also make a picture frame to go with it to take home as a souvenir of the day. To me, the smiles on the faces of the participants is what it's all about!

I encourage you to check out the Access-Life website and to consider being a volunteer at a future event (right now, the closest one to Nashville is in East Tennessee, but that could change in the future).

Sister Saturday: Birthday Edition

My sweet sister, Jeanette, had a birthday this week, so I wanted to give a little "shout out" as part of her birthday celebration. As sisters go, I think she's TOPS! I love watching her as a mommy to her precious girls and as a devoted and encouraging wife to her husband. She gives me love and encouragement every day, whether it's via text, chat, phone calls, or in person. She knows that I am a pretty independent person, but she loves to look for ways she can help me in my life, and I love and appreciate that about her.

On Thursday night while we were eating out as a family for her birthday, the waitress looked at us and said,
"You must be sisters!" I'm glad that people can tell from our looks and our actions that we are related.

I love you, Jeanette, and I'm thankful each and every day that God blessed me with a sister-friend for life!

Why I "Like" Gabby's Burgers and Fries

In case you've ever wondered, interesting phone calls come into the church office all of the time. In fact, I could probably start a blog to document these phone calls, or at least begin a new feature on my blog.

Case in point: This morning a guy called and told me that he owns Gabby's Burgers and had found some purses in his dumpster, one of which had a church bulletin from Grace inside. He had Googled our church to get the number and was very interested in helping the owner of the purse (turned out it was a tote bag--and if you're a woman like me who carries both, you know the difference) get her belongings back. One thing that was in the bag was a Bible and this guy was willing to go out of his way to bring it to our office to see if we could find the owner.

I had recently seen a friend from church post on Facebook about having had her purse stolen from a car while in the lot of a local park, so I was ready to put two and two together and get this bag back to that friend. I asked the guy on the phone where his restaurant is located (by Greer Stadium, at 493 Humphreys, if you're interested), and that is WAY away from the park where my friend had her purse stolen.

When the restaurant owner walked into the church office with the bags/purses, I immediately saw a red bag that belongs to a different friend of mine and the other purse had some ID of a person who I didn't know. I called my "red bag friend" and she said that she had had her purse stolen while she was kayaking not far from the park where the other friend's purse was taken (stay with me, I know this is confusing). My "red bag friend" was ecstatic to know that her bag had been found (the bag itself has sentimental value), plus the only thing missing was a ten dollar bill! Her prescription glasses were still there. Her house key. Her driver's license. All there. Praise the Lord!

While she was still on the line, she told me to tell the restaurant owner that he was an answer to prayer. He thanked me, but he was eager to get back to Googling the address found in the other purse (since we didn't know that person) and he soon left to continue being a Good Samaritan (loose reference, since the Good Samaritan in the Bible was caring for someone beaten up and left on the side of the road, not returning purses found in dumpsters, but you get the idea).

 I did some Googling of my own and found the website for his restaurant, Gabby's Burgers and Fries and can't wait to go eat there sometime soon (I purposely chose that page to link to instead of their homepage so you can read the story). I also went on Facebook and "liked" his place, even though I haven't eaten there yet. Sometimes, it's just the right thing to do, especially when someone else has done the right thing first.

Erica is Four!

Today is Erica's fourth birthday! As excited as I was to meet her and hold her when she was born, I think she surpassed that excitement in anticipation of her birthday this year. She was thrilled to get a special outing to the zoo with her friend, Colette, from preschool.

Erica: "Aunt Nette, would you make a birthday card for me and for Colette?"
Me: I think I could do that (and of course, I did!)

After the zoo outing and naps, we got together for Erica's family birthday party, complete with presents and cupcakes and her choice of chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries for dinner. I had made a banner similar to the one for Mary Lane's birthday, but I put some flamingos on Erica's, since that is her favorite animal to see at the zoo.

Here are some pictures of the exuberant four-year-old:

Photo album customized with Smilebox

Walkin' in Memphis

At the end of July, our whole family took a weekend trip to visit Uncle Bud and Aunt Vickie who live in Memphis. They have lived there a long time (Vickie was born and raised there) and we've been to see them lots of times. But this time, we decided to be tourists for the afternoon.

With Daniel's strong interest in music, we thought it would be fun to go check out Beale Street and some of the musical connections in Memphis (we didn't make it to Graceland). Since it was very hot, we opted to walk a "few feet off of Beale" to the Rock and Soul Museum, which happens to be adjacent to the FedEx Forum, where the Memphis Grizzlies play basketball. Later that evening, we met up with the rest of the fam and ate dinner at a restaurant on Beale Street and then went to see a Memphis Redbirds baseball game (the stadium is also in downtown Memphis).

The museum was curated with the help of the Smithsonian Institute, so it's not too shabby. Lots of fun musical memorabilia and juke boxes with music from the 40s, 50s and 60s to listen to (or dance to, if you're a woman off of a tour bus who was reliving her youth . . . not anyone we knew, but she was comical to watch).

Before we went downtown on Saturday, we also spent some time in Germantown, outside of Memphis, at a park (again, it was HOT) and walking around a shaded outdoor museum of sorts with an old-timey jail and fire truck and train caboose.

It was a fun trip and we enjoyed getting to spend time with Bud and Vickie and various other relatives and friends of the family.

Now for the pictures:

Swinging at the park

A little piece of shade

Mary Lane liked this "little boy" and thought he was crying.

Erica and Grandma in jail

Someone's peeking around the ladder on the back of the red caboose

Smile!

Daniel was conveniently wearing his U2 shirt that day, so it was a great photo op

Our dinner destination

Uncle Bud, Aunt Vickie and Erica

Vickie's sister, Valerie, and Erica became buddies

Vickie and Bud own the jewelry store that sponsors the "Kiss Cam"

My cousin, Scott, and his wife, Sonnia

Vickie's nephew, Cole, with Daniel and Vickie

Thirteenth First Day of School

Well, I'm behind on posting again (why do I put such high expectations on myself?) and I also wasn't able to find all of the pictures that I wanted for this post. So . . . I'll just have to improvise and adjust my expectations.

Last Wednesday (yes, August 1st) was Daniel's last first day of school, or with a more positive spin, his thirteenth first day of school. Yikes!

I sure couldn't really imagine what that day would be like when I took him to Kindergarten on August 17, 2000. I remember that he was nervous, but was very brave and went into his classroom and sat down to color at his new desk. After the appropriate amount of time, we left and he didn't cry . . . until the next day and the next 50 or 60 or 100 school days after that. Poor guy, he missed his Momma!

Every year I have taken Daniel's picture on the front steps of our house. Here are some of the milestone years:

Senior Year - 2012

8th grade - 2008 (Last year of Meigs Middle School)

4th grade - 2004 (Last year of Tusculum Elementary School)

Kindergarten - 2000

There was one more big difference between Daniel's first day of Kindergarten and his first day of Senior year. When we took him to Tusculum Elementary for his very first day of school, we drove him down the street and walked him to his classroom.

On his last first day of school, Daniel drove himself downtown to Hume-Fogg High School, parked behind the school and strutted into the school to find his own classrooms. Yep, he's a Senior!