Thursday, September 11, 2008

When terror hit home

I have to say that today has been a very sad day for me because it's September 11 and I have so many awful memories of that day. I have not watched the news cause I remember that day clearly, it seems like yesterday not 7 yrs ago. You see my sister worked at tower 2 and when I first heard on the news on the radio that day here in NY they said a small plane had crashed into the roof of the tower, my first thought was what an idiot. So I changed the station and popped a CD so I can listen to music. I was with my best friend we had just dropped off the kids at school and I was going to drop her off at a job interview. As we get close to the address of her interview she wasn't sure which entrance so she tells me to wait. Now my best friend is hispanic darkskin and within minutes she was out of the building and she said Dolores turn on the radio, it was not a small plane another plane hit the other tower. I suddenly realized OMG my sister. I drove like a mad woman back home, while she called my sister and no answer she kept telling me don't worry she's okay, we called my mother at work her coworker picked up the phone my mother fainted when she heard the news. My other sister was 5 mos pregnant and I was afraid to call her, but I did and we were both crying over the phone she left her job to be with me. We continued to call my little sister and still no answer, then I remembered that my husband works not too far from the towers maybe he can look for her. I was panicked, I couldn't even get my husband on his cell no phones were working. When I finally reached the front of my building the newslady on the radio starts repeating OMGod, OMGod, then she screams and says the building has collapsed, that's when I lost it! As I write this I'm crying because it's just so hard! my friend keeps telling me everything is going to be Okay, she picks me up out of the car and we come inside my pregnant sister arrives within minutes and all we can do is cry, we couldn't even be with our mother to comfort her because she lives in NJ and all the bridges were closed. Then my sister and I watch in horror as the second tower collapses. It just brought us both to our knees. We kept yelling for our little sister Ivy. At 11:00 my dh walks in we just start hugging each other and crying and tell him about Ivy he wants to go back, but we tell him to go and pick up the kids from school. We need them with us. Finally at 11:10 I get a call from my brother, but he doesn't know anything about Ivy, he was calling me to find out if she called me. He said Mom is not doing to good, he's 16 at the time he doesn't know what to do. We tell him to just watch her and keep us informed. At 11:45 my little sister called me she was okay she was stuck in traffic and heard what happened on the radio she was running late to work thank God. She stopped at a bank hysterical crying and made them let her in and explained that she worked there and she was late for a meeting and her boss, her friends they must be dead. She had tried to call us and let us know that she was okay, but there were no phone lines at all. My sister didn't perish thank God, but within 2 weeks she went from a size 6 to a size 1 in clothes she lost 17 co-workers in her area, but the company lost over 200 employees. Today is the hardest for my little sister, and relives that day and it seems during this time she always loses weight. She will never be the same, I don't think none of us are the same. I think about the families who did lose a love one and all I could do today is cry, but I also pray for those families and I ask God to give them strength today and each day, but especially today!
So when I got up this morning at 7am I called her, and I asked how she was feeling, she said much better today because now she has a little one. Who just happened to turn one on the 9 of this month. She is blessed, and we are blessed to still have her.

12 comments:

just lisa said...

Thanks for sharing this Dolores. I am so happy your sister was okay and so sad for the ones that were not.

Anonymous said...

I don't know what to say. I can only imagine the terror in not being able to get ahold of your sister and thinking the worst. I'm so happy she was not physically hurt. I'm so sad for everyone who lost their lives and the families that lost their loved ones.

Laurajean said...

Wow...I was so scared reading your post and was so thankful that your little sister was okay...what a painful tradegy your sister and your family had to go through...unfortunately, they're alot of families mourning loved ones today...so sad. Thank you for sharing this very difficult story. God Bless.

Becky said...

I sit here crying....for all those that lost their lives, for the terror you must have felt thinking your sister was there...and for the joy to know that she was safe. It is a day that no one can forget

Kristina said...

{{hugs}}

Shirley said...

Amazing story D! So glad your sister was ok!

JoEllyn said...

Amazing story...TFS!!!

BTW--LOOOOVE the blog background!!!!

latte_grande said...

Omg, I can't imagine being RIGHT THERE on the day it happened...especially knowing you have a loved one who may be one of the thousands of victims. Wow.
At the time, my dad was working at the Pentagon, which was also hit....I think I was numb. Like I just knew he HAD to be okay, kwim? And he was, he had been on the other side of the building and called to let us know he was on his way home.
What an amazingly horrible, tragic day. I'm so sorry for your sister losing so many of her friends and co-workers. {{{hugs}}}

just lisa said...

You have been tagged - check out my blog!!!

Patti H said...

wow thanks for sharing your story. I am so glad for your and your family it had a happy ending. I can not imagine.

Michelle said...

I am speechless (((hugs)))

Tamara Wheeler said...

OMG Dolores, I can't even imagine. {hugs} to you and your family. And I pray for all those who lost a loved one on that day!