I know this is not the anniversary date of 9/11. However,... in my endless viewing on the television I came across a documentary on that infamous day. So I watched it this morning. It brought back a lot of memories for me. And I thought I have never told anyone how that day was for me. Maybe,... in 50 years time from now, my granddaughter may want to know stories from her family on all memories. I know I love to hear stories from my ancestry.
On that date, September 11th 2001, I was 38. At the time I was freshly divorced. My ex had moved out of the family home and I had remained there with the girls. We were on Drum Oak Crescent in Brampton. Just like the rest of the world, the day started very normal. I got the girls off to school. I was an office temp at the time and I had a contract with a company that was directly across from the Toronto International Pierson Airport. The company I was temping for was a large courier company. I was in an interior office doing my data entry when suddenly someone came in and turned on the tv that was on the wall. And it was at this time that millions of people around the world got their first images of the twin towers. It felt surreal. About 3 hours later - noon'ish - our manager came in and said we were being evacuated. Our company had anthrax threats made to it. Apparently they had 'info' that left them worried that an intentional package containing anthrax had been courioured through our warehouse going somewhere else in the States. They weren't sure where this package was at that time. I was shocked. I'm just a small town girl trying to make a living. Here I was thrushed into this international event. We were quickly ushered out. We gave our data (name and time in and out) and then told to go home. Which I did.
Our home at the time was in Brampton and was only 20 minutes away. We lived so close to the airport that at times while sitting around our swimming pool we would have to all stop talking while a jet flew overhead so loudly nothing could be heard. You could read the serial numbers on the planes they were so low. I grew up listening to these planes so I was very used to them. But on the drive home I noticed something I hadn't heard in a long time ~ silence. NO PLANES. The runway over our subdivision has planes flying over every 2 minutes from early morning until sometimes after midnight. But that day it was eerily silent.
When I arrived home it was too quiet. I turned on the news and just like everyone else around the world I sat and watched in horror at the events unfolding that day. But I had this overwhelming need to have my children with me. I can't explain why I did this, but I drove to their public school and picked them up and brought them home. I didn't see any other parents collecting their kids but I didn't care,... I just had this inexplicable need to have them infront of me where I could see them and see they were safe. Some people later commented I overreacted and just scared them but I did what I felt I needed to do. I needed my girls with me. I often wonder what my girls memories are of that day. I think sometimes in major tradgedies like this, you just need to be primal and my mother instinct was to go and get my children and bring them home.
That night I had a nightmare. I was sound asleep when I thought I heard the very loud sound of an airplane spiralling - falling from the sky onto my house. I can't tell you how REAL this dream felt at the time. I woke up in a sweat and couldn't get back to sleep. That was the only nightmare I had but it was terrifying enough.
Luckily the company I was temping for was still under investigation so I had two weeks off. They eventually re-opened the building and I did go back to work but it was the weirdest feeling going back knowing they thought we had a terrorist package go through our warehouse. Of course I never did find out what that was all about as I was just a temp and left the company a few weeks later.
A year later we sold the family home and I started my life as a divorced woman. And THAT of course if a completely different story for another day,...
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