where were you?

I had the babysitter this morning to watch the little one, so I went to get a pedicure. As I sat there with my requisite trashy magazine reporting on "celebrities" I don't recognize (and, for the life of me, I can't figure out what they "did" to become "celebrities"), I looked around and saw several other women enjoying a little pampering. The hum of idle chatter, the clicking of clippers, the splashing of water, the smell of nail polish. And then I remembered where I was 8 years ago today.

My husband woke me up and told me to turn on the TV. By the time I was watching both planes had struck. I watched both towers fall. I went outside and the silence was overwhelming - no cars, no planes or helicopters. An eerie peace in the wake of that tragic day.

Thank you to the brave men and women that sacrificed everything on that day, so that we may enjoy freedom, big and small. That made it possible for me, 8 years later, to get a pedicure and a chai latte from Starbucks, just like any other day.