For my folks in the U.S.

(Trigger warning - this one is about 9/11... enough said, scroll if you must).

Happy Patriot Day

...

Yeah, I hate that too.

As someone who watched the 9/11 terror attacks on live television as a 5th grader, I hate this day so freaking much. For many of us in my age bracket (hello Millennials, especially my fellow mid-millennials!) it was bad enough that we literally watched horrific things on the television both live and on repeat for days, but now we see it repeated every year while the day is also somehow... commercialized? It's not like Memorial Day, where we get time off and there's actually a chance we can think and reflect on things. But there's tons of red, white, and blue decorations and this emphasis on loving our country... That by it self is an entirely different can of worms that I won't be opening today.

Now, 23 years later, there is a huge part of me that is thankful that we just carry on throughout the day. The years immediately after the event, we marked moments of silence throughout the day, instruction stopping at the times when planes hit different locations so we could stop and reflect on such a dark day in the country's history. It tore me up as a kid, and as a teacher in my first couple of years when we were told to have ALL instruction connect to 9/11.

I'm not sure when the shift happened, but I don't have students ask about it anymore. Not even a quarter of a century removed from that day, we poke along through the day, almost as if it never happened. Maybe it changed with the pandemic..? Maybe before? I really can't recall when it moved from being a day of reverence to just another date on the calendar.

But it did. And a ton of us who were witness to it (and for many of us, we were far too young, but saw it anyway) that shift is jarring to think about. So, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the elephant in the room on this day. Even as we mosey through the day as if it were just any other. To those who saw the unthinkable and carry those memories with them: I see you, and I know how you feel (somewhat, in some cases, more so in others).

I know getting things out helps me process. That's part of why I write. Feel free to use my comments or even my message section to get your words out if you need it. Think about what the younger you needed to say or ask - I'm all ears (eyes? You know what I mean).

As much as it bothers me to say this - you are not alone. And we will never forget.