Have You Forgotten?

United we stand. Divided we fall.

Eight years ago, I was a 19-year-old newlywed with a baby on the way. We were young and had no money. In August, we had decided that my hubby would join the Army. The benefits were great and he would be entering a peace time Army, so we were excited and free from worry for the first time in months. He went through the recruiting process and was set up with a date to leave for basic training: September 11, 2001. I remember marking it on my calendar with tears in my eyes. These tears came partly because of the hormones coursing through my body and partly because I would have to live without my new hubby for a few months while he underwent his transformation into a Soldier. The morning of his departure arrived and I stood in a hotel lobby at 4:30 am waving goodbye to him as he boarded a bus to go to the MEPS startion. He had told me to stay at the hotel and get some more sleep, but I couldn't. When the bus pulled out of the parking lot, I gathered my things and checked out of the hotel. I began the four hour drive home not knowing that before I got there my world would be changed forever. I listened to a tape (yeah, didn't have a fancy car with a CD player) for the first three hours. Then I turned on the radio and heard the news that a plane had flown into the first tower. It spiraled out of control from there. By the time I got home, all I remember is running into my parents house, finding my dad and crying to him that I had just sent my husband off to the Army and our country was being attacked. My dad had not been watching TV so he thought I was off my rocker. Soon enough, he knew. We spent the rest of the day watching the news with my grandparents and awaiting a phone call from my husband. It was the most gut-wrenching day ever. His call brought the news that his leaving had been delayed. We spent the next week in limbo waiting for him to ship out.

I tell you all of this to come to these points:

1. The feeling of unity that we shared in this country on that day and in the following weeks was incredible. Despite the scariness that the uncertainty brought, there was a comfort in knowing that we Americans were going to face it together. For a brief time, we actually believed in "United we stand".
   
2. I am proud to have been alive to feel this. I think that very few times in our nation's history has there been that collectiveness.
   
3. I miss that unity. I hope we can find a way back to it without suffering another unthinkable tragedy. People claim they haven't forgotten but I think they have. They've forgotten how it felt that day and in the following weeks.
4. Have you forgotten?