Reflections on 9/11

It's hard to believe it's been six years. Since then, I've gotten married, moved three times, and had a baby, so it feels like a world away. In many ways, it was. Living in the DC area at the time and being a middle school teacher was an experience nearly impossible to describe, but I think it's time I tried.

We were in our second week of school, and as a second-year teacher, I was helping the kids settle into a rhythm. That Tuesday morning was a glorious one--the kind of robins-egg blue sky and warm sun that makes me love early autumn. My fourth-period class was about to enter when I saw an email in my mailbox from a Canadian friend of mine with a subject line saying something about "Amy, a plane has crashed into the WTC". I didn't have time to look at it with the transition of classes, but as my gifted class began to enter, some of them were already asking me what was happening.