MY 9/11 Story

Today marks the 8th anniversary of the tragic event that took place on 9/11/01. None of us will ever forget that day. It will be in the history books along with events like Pearl Harbor, the assassination of JFK, the first walk on the moon and many more. Each of us has our own story to tell about that day. Many of us probably knows someone who lost a loved one that day.

I would like to tell my story.

Sept. 11, 2001 started like any other day. I got up and went to work. I remember that the weather was beautiful that day. The skies so blue. I was at my desk on the phone with my boss, when a coworker said that a small plane just hit one of the towers. Knowing that my father sometimes had to go to the towers, I called him at work. Thankfully, he was working at the Lincoln Tunnel that day.

My father answered the phone and one of the first words out of his mouth were 'We're under attack'. I couldn't understand what he meant. He watched in horror as the first plane hit. He told me that it wasn't a small plane, as was first reported. While we were on the phone I heard 'Holy Shit'. He said a plane just hit the 2nd tower. He had to go. We didn't really have a close relationship, but I managed to tell him that I loved him.

I emailed my sisters and my mother letting them know that my father was ok and was at the tunnel. I guess an hour later (not 100% sure of the time) I called him again. This time, one of the secretaries answered the phone. I told her who I was. She told me that my father had gone over to the Towers to help with rescue and to bring generators over, as he did in 93. So, I emailed my family to let them know where he was.

I remember hearing that the Pentagon was hit and that a plane went down in Pennsylvania. But I will never forget when that first tower fell. I sat in front of a TV at my office watching it. Life was in slow motion. I feared for my father's life. Then the 2nd tower fell. I remember just crying, clinging to my middle sister (we worked together). Our father was there. He was in that rubble. He was dead.

I asked my mother to call my Grandmother's house. Thankfully, my uncle was there at the time. She told him that my father was at the towers when they collapsed. We wanted him to know because we knew that we were going to have to tell my Grandmother that she just lost her eldest son.

I couldn't bring myself to leave the office. If my father had survived, I thought that he would call me at work. I know my co-workers were thinking that I was just fooling myself into believing he was OK. But I just couldn't leave…. What if he needed me? Clearly he would call me at work since that's where I was when we last spoke.

Hours went by, but I can't remember exactly how many. It was probably only 3, but it felt like forever. My desk phone rang. It was my mother. My uncle had called her to tell her that he got a phone call from my father! He was alive!!! He got held up at the tunnel and never made it to what was now Ground Zero.

Because my father works for the Port Authority of NY/NJ, he lost many friends and co-workers that day. As a nation, we grieved for the losses, but I know that my family celebrated what was 'returned' to us.

My family got a 2nd chance that day. Since then, my sisters & I have established wonderful relationships with our dad. There is not a day that goes by that we don't tell each other that we love one another. God gave us our father that day. The father we were meant to have.

I will always remember the men & women who lost their lives that day. Many of them died as heroes. Their families are continuously in my thoughts and prayers - especially Joe Navas, PAPD, William McGinn, FDNY & Jeremy Glick, Flight 93.

Many blessings,
Allison

Our first home

A fellow blogger asked her readers to post about their first married home. Of course, this got me thinking and I decided to participate. Sorry, no pictures right now. It's 3:45 in the morning and I have to dig them out.

Anyway, neither Craig or I really ever lived anywhere on our own. Sure, I lived at my grandmother's while she was in a nursing home/rehab but that didn't last long. A few months before we were to get married, we set out to find an apartment.

It was 1997 and we were living in northern New Jersey. Buying a house was NOT cheap! Heck, to be honest, RENTING wasn't cheap and we weren't making a ton of money. I was a store manager for a European furniture store & Craig was a teacher's assistant.

The places that were in our price range were either in bad parts of town or really in poor condition. Finally, a friend of mine told us about his parents' apartment complex. There was going to be a basement apartment available and the price was right up our alley.

It was a cute little apartment. Weird layout. Kitchen & living room were one giant room. There was a bedroom and a bathroom. Because it was an apartment complex, there was a laundry facility available - right outside our door. Which was, for the most part, convenient. However, it REALLY stunk when people would do their laundry at midnight.

Shortly after getting married (about 3 weeks later), we found out that I was pregnant. Let's just say I was hormonal!! One of the tenants decided to run the washing machine at 11:30 at night - even though there was a sign posted stating that laundry was not to be done after 10pm. Did I mention that this washing machine SOUNDED like it was permanently off balance? Yep - hormonal pregnant woman, LOUD washing machine, late night. You can imagine that it did not make for a pretty site.

Another thing that drove me nuts about that apartment was the fact that it was in the basement. Don't get me wrong - I LOVED that it was so dark at night. But having people living ABOVE us! Holy Cow!!! It often sounded like they were having office chair races at all crazy hours (we later moved to that unit and found out that the rolling noise was just a closet door).

We were young & poor, but we were in love - and pregnant. Shortly after our 1st child was born, we were offered to move to the upstairs unit.

So, that's it. Our first home. It wasn't much, but it was ours (on a month to month basis anyway).

Many blessings,
Allison

Walking down memory lane

Today is perfect timing!! Especially since Chelsea's birthday yesterday has given me cause to walk down memory lane.


The kids LOVE to hear their birth stories. Especially Chelsea because hers was particularly interesting - not that Justin's wasn't, but his was different.


Toward the end of my pregnancy with Chelsea, I started experiencing complications. Quite honestly, I had problems throughout with high blood pressure. No one picked up on it until the very end though.


I was hospitalized about a week before I delivered Chelsea because of my blood pressure. I want to say that it rose to 210/120. Once in the hospital, it lowered itself back down to normal. Sent home on complete bed rest, I wound up BACK in the hospital just 2 days later.

On the morning of July 14, pitocin began. I remember being in the birthing suite and suddenly hearing a woman SCREAMING 'Get this thing out of me!'. What had I gotten myself into? I think within 15 minutes, labor started for me. HOLY COW!! Talk about pain! Birthing classes did not describe this pain accurately.

Labor was 12 hours. FINALLY it was time to push. I'm lazy - I'll admit it. I gave up pushing after 1 hour and BEGGED for a c-section. Not sure why the doctor readily agreed to it, but I was not disappointed when they wheeled me into the OR. What I was NOT prepared for was the fact that my epidural wasn't working enough to do a c-section. There was no choice but to put me under.

I don't remember much after that... besides throwing up on a nurse and being told that I had a baby girl.

What I do remember is looking at my daughter for the 1st time and falling head-over-heels in love!

Enjoy the memory!

Many blessings,
Allison