We Didn't Start the Fire

Reflections on 9/11, quite possibly the strangest start to a school year ever, and dispatches from the quarantine.

Sep 11, 2020

[Image Description] looking toward one of the waterfall pools surrounded by a list the names of the victims of the 9/11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing // Photo by Axel Houmadi on Unsplash

It is hard to talk about it without getting emotional.

For those who remember the feeling of that September morning in 2001, it is hard not to be transported back to the moment we thought the world we knew was coming to an end. And in a sense, it did.

At the time, I was in California, a recent college graduate, who woke up to my roommate imploring me to come to the living room. We sat in shock, watching the twin towers on fire as we heard about the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, then the first tower fell, and then flight 93 crashed, and finally, the second tower collapsed.

I felt helpless and so very far away.

My kids (as of this writing 14, 11, and 8) won’t have the memory of 9/11, but what they will have is the bad taste of 2020 in their mouths.

On August 17th, my kids (as many children did) had their first day of the 2019-2020 school year in their bedroom. And while they put on their happy face and even dressed in “first-day” outfits, the despondency was palpable.

So much has happened in nine months that it would be difficult to sum it up, so rather than try, let me say that it is okay not to be fine. I’m not fine. We are not fine. Fine is just a bandaid of a word. We are being transformed. We are being changed. And much like how our country was changed after 9/11, 2020 is going to leave its mark.

We didn’t start the fire, but despite all of it, I remain hopeful.

I talked with my youngest daughter a couple of nights ago, and she asked why God would let COVID-19 happen to us. And I don’t know about you or what you believe, but I was honestly stumped. I told her that life is like a story that we don’t know the ending to, and sometimes we are in the middle of the story when things seem like they are the worst. But I am rooting for a happy ending.

If it wasn’t for COVID-19, I’m not sure that I would be in the position to have my new job. If it wasn’t for being quarantined with my family, I am not sure that we would ever have the opportunity to have so much family time.

Recently my wife tested positive for COVID-19. She is fine, BTW, fully recovered. She spent over a week in our bedroom while I slept downstairs and managed the kids, school work, and the new job. Thank goodness for good friends who brought over cookies, meals and sent positive thoughts and earnest prayers. I have never appreciated my wife as much as I did that week.

We have to find, I mean really dig, for the silver linings. But it is worth it, at least for me. I hope it is for you.

Have a great weekend y’all.

Tim

If you are new to The Weeklyish. Welcome! Typically I am not so serious, but this was how I was feeling on a Friday afternoon. To support our work, use the button below to donate to MCIE, where we receive direct support for Think Inclusive, The Weeklyish, and the Think Inclusive Podcast. Your tax-deductible donation goes far to help us share MCIE’s work, best practices for inclusive education, and systems change.

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