today i had trouble remembering that it was the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the WTC in new york. i feel pretty awful about that. i know the families of those lost in the attack didn't have any trouble remembering. nine years ago today, i woke up in my apartment in north dallas that i shared with my friend jessica, got dressed and drove to richland college. i absent-mindedly listened to the radio on the way to school, but didn't focus on anything i heard... my mind was on something else. i remember feeling annoyed that there was no music playing on any stations, only talk and commercials. i wasn't paying attention. i parked, went inside the school, and immediately tuned in to a weird, unpleasant energy... students were crowded in the hallways and foyers, and everyone was talking on their cell phones. i didn't have one at the time. i saw a sign on the wall that said classes were cancelled. i made my way through the crowd to the pay phones and called my dad. he told me what had happened. i couldn't process it. i went back to my car and drove home. jessica was there, sitting in the living room, watching TV and eating a bowl of peas. strange, the things we remember... i sat down with her, and we watched the second tower fall together. i got on the phone with my mom, and she told me my sister was stuck in oregon, unable to fly home from a camp she'd been attending. jessica and i watched TV for the next couple of hours. i don't remember much after that. they kept showing the same awful footage on TV, of bodies falling from the towers. i remember watching george w. bush's address to the nation, and wondering, "is this the beginning of a war? will this be my war? my generation's war? will my children interview me one day about this event, for a project or research paper at school? they'll read about this in their history books." isn't it strange that i had that thought? our minds are so funny sometimes.

last night i bawled my eyes out because micah and rowan are growing up too quickly. today, i decided to be present in the moment with them all day, to enjoy and revel in every moment with them. and i did. we got up early, got dressed, and i dropped them off at my dad and stepmom's for the morning while i went to work. i got done with the deposit at work as quickly as i could, then picked them back up. we drove to laura's new house in murphy for chase's 2nd birthday party. it was so fun; the kids had a blast playing, they got loot from the pinata, and we had a good lunch of chicken nuggets, fruit, and birthday cake. we hung out for a while after the party festivities had wound down, and i got to hold laura's 3-month-old baby, reed, while she ate her lunch. reed fell asleep on me - joy!! :) after we left laura's, the kids and i drove back home and rowan took a nap. micah and i chatted and snuggled on the couch watching cartoons while he slept. when he woke up, i fixed dinner (poor man's meal - mac & cheese, pintos, leftover popcorn shrimp, and salad) and we ate while we watched toy story. after dinner, i felt like doing something fun with the kids, so we went over to rachel and joe's house to play with mink and lael. the kids had missed each other, and craziness ensued. micah and mink made custom artwork for rachel and me, and rowan and lael made clay traps for their superhero guys. i love those kids.

now my babies are sleeping soundly, and it's time for me to take a shower and go to bed. i miss josh. i'm glad he's coming home from houston tomorrow. he's been there since yesterday, photographing a friend's wedding.