How do you even attempt to explain what happened 10 years ago to kids who were born after it all even happened...how do you explain the hatred that flew those planes into places they were never meant to go to a six year old...
Do you even try to tell her at all?
Maybe you wouldn't or you shouldn't but she already kinda knows about it somehow and you think because she does seem pretty smart that maybe you shouldn't try to hide the day or the meaning from her. She asks you all sorts of questions and she wants to know more... You really want your family to observe the moments of silence...and so you tell her...a little bit about what happened that day.
You tell her in a much more toned down way about what actually happened; but you do tell her about the planes, the crashes, the towers and that people died that day: many, many people died. You tell her about the brave, brave men and women who responded that day--the firemen and the police officers, who risked their lives to save others...the heros; everyones' heros. You tell her about the dogs who helped sniff people out of the wreckage and helped find loved ones...you tell her about the brave passengers who banded together and took a plane down into a field outside Shanksville, PA instead of letting it do even more harm...You tell her that even though there are people who do bad things in the world...there are so many more people that do good...
You tell her about her family that loves her: her parents, brother, grandparents, cousins, aunts & uncles...her friends and neighbors...you tell her about all the good people of the world, doing good work: about the doctors that heal us, the teachers that help us learn and the people that help grow our food. You tell her about all the good people in the world that help take care of animals, of plants and of the earth. You tell her that she too, will grow up to be a good person...that she, in her life, will contribute to the health and peace of the planet--that the world will be a better place because she is here...
And as you wipe away the tears from her face, as well as your own--you wonder if this was all too much...maybe it was and maybe she is too young...But she looks to you and she says that she will be a force of good in the world and she will help right the wrongs and then she puts her little hand in yours and you squeeze it so hard--you can't help yourself...she squeezes back...you whisper to her that you love her, so very much, and she falls asleep in your arms...and for a moment...
the day is ok
and you have hope that the world will be a better place for her.
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