I Remember 9/11 Differently as a Mom and a Teacher

Last year I posted a story a student told me in class about her recollection of being a 3 year old driving over a bridge from NYC to New Jersey, seeing people jumping out of the burning Twin Towers.  Today I realize that she is probably one of the last students I will have who has memories from that day--most of my 7th graders this year weren't even born yet!
My 9/11 story is like so many others who were 12 at the time--I knew something was going on but my school didn't let us see the footage until about 1pm.  I remember sitting there watching the footage and thinking about my dad, who was in the middle of a 10-day canoe trip in Algonquin, Canada. As scary as it was that he wasn't with us, I was so glad that he was there in stead of what he was usually doing during the week--flying.
I also remember the first time I flew on a plane.  I was about to turn 16, almost 4 years after the attacks, and we were flying to Alaska and back on a total of 6 different flights.  It was hard not to scan the faces of everyone on the plane as we walked back to our seats before each flight.
People talk about "When I was young we didn't have x, y, and z." but they are mistaken.  You had terrorist attacks and sexual abuse and drugs in schools in the 70's.  What you didn't have, though, was a spirit of fear hanging over you as a result of knowing every detail.  Part of it was the naïveté of youth, but I don't remember being afraid of being in airports until after 9/11.  I don't remember being afraid of schools until after Columbine.  I loved driving through the "big city" and fearlessly wanted to explore it until the '96 Olympic bombings.  I, and others my age, grew up in a time when information was becoming increasingly accessible as we were becoming aware of the fact that the world around us is much bigger than what we experience.  With an abundance of information comes an abundance of fear, and now we are starting families in an age where there is no real way to hide information--everything comes out in the end.
I don't advocate hiding the truth from kids, my own or my students, of the media or the public. I do advocate presenting truth in a way that both discloses reality and gives hope within the darkness.  We live and are raising our kids in a dark world, and darkness must be exposed.  But it cannot be exposed with despair; it must be exposed with light--the light of truth.  The truth is that terrorists and Ebola and ISIS and "JV Presidents" and the NFL are not our greatest enemies; the US Military and the CDC and the UN and elections and legal reforms are not our way of escape.

Psalm 27

1The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident.
4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.
5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”
9 Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a level path
Because of my foes.
12 Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.

13I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.

14 Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.