I had just finished going over the morning work with my first graders, and happened to be standing near the door to my classroom. A fellow teacher went running by, and I stepped out into the hall and asked what was wrong. Without stopping, she said that terrorists had flown planes into the World Trade Center buildings, and they were evacuating the White House. I was stunned. I turned back to look at my students, who were busy doing their work, and my heart felt so heavy as I realized that they were about to lose a special sort of innocence that day. I knew that I had to remain calm and composed. The principal came by each classroom to make sure we didnt turn the televisions on in the lower elementary. Older students were allowed to gather and watch the events unfold to see history in the making. I called my then husband, and asked him to go pick up our son, who would be turning 3 in five days. We decided to leave our daughter at school, who was in fifth grade, knowing her teacher from our church. Even being in SW Missouri out in the middle of nowhere, I kept looking out the window at the blue sky, and searching for planes. Once I got home, after hugging my children and thanking God for our safety, I spent the next several hours glued to the television watching the news. I was finally able to let go and cry. My heart was breaking for our country. I remember feeling less afraid after the President talked to us that night, but still a lot of uncertainty about the future when I laid my head down on the pillow to go to sleep that night. I fell asleep praying for all the victims, their families, and America.
