Patriot Day

There are always so many solemn thoughts and emotions on 9/11. As I drove to Target with the kiddies, I started getting teary-eyed because I was telling the kids why everyone had flags in their yards. Abe always just wonders what I'm crying about.  I think Hannah sensed the sadness in my memory.

Sadly enough, we can't change that day 7 years ago and so many other days in history that we wish didn't happen. I think our promise to 'never forget' is seen in the reverence we have for those who died and also for those who fight for our freedom today.  I also think never forgetting means trying to live good lives like those who were heroes on that day.

I liked the quotes Marne shared from a memorial address for Brady Howell (our friend from Sugar City who died in the Pentagon):

"...but in doing so, and not denying that instinct to achieve, to take the example of Brady Howell, it is important, I think to be mostly driven by a thought offered by the distinguished American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes. "Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind, and sometimes against it -- but sail we must, and not drift, nor lie at anchor."

Pursue that instinct. Pursue these inspiring experiences of those who are just like all of us who simply acted upon them. And together I think we can achieve some remarkable accomplishments."

I also appreciated Liz Howell's memory of carrying the Olympic torch in December 2001:

There is no more fitting symbol of hope than the Olympic flame.

The flame shines brightly and symbolizes purity, unity through diversity, the endeavor for perfection, and the struggle for inner victory.

That is why I agreed to participate in the Olympic torch relay.

Commemorating the sacrifice of Brady and other victims causes my heart to swell with tremendous feelings of comfort and strength.

I have hope that a lot of good things are still to come. That’s what sustains me.

I don't have anything profound to add to all this, and I don't pretend to know anything about the deep heartache that so many families feel from these tragedies, but in my random thoughts I just try to think of what I can do in the midst of all this.

It seems the sadness that comes from events like 9/11 and war in general, can only be brightened by the promise of goodness in people... true hope in our Savior bringing peace to our hearts and minds... confidence in all that is good and right.

I guess our role is to take that heroism given to us - FREEDOM - and pay it forward and brighten someone's day - with small simple acts of kindness. Maybe that seems like a silly thing to say on a solemn day like today, but it seems like the right thing to keep moving forward and upward like heroes do.

"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?--every, every minute?" Emily (Our Town)