five minutes of my life

4:35:00pm--Open Sephora compact to freshen up for cocktail party.  A chunk of dark green eye shadow shakes loose and spills onto my white blouse in the not-so-subtle location of my chest.

4:35:30pm--Brush it off causing it to smear and work it's way deeper into the material.  Pause.  Panic sets in.

4:36:00pm--Put down compact.  Reach for Clorox Bleach Pen in desk drawer.

4:36:15pm--Open bleach pen.  Contents from pen drip onto dark denim skirt.

4:36:30pm--Paralyzed by panic.  Can't decide what to address first.

4:37:00pm--Frantically grab a paper towel.  Open water bottle.  Spill contents onto keyboard and then onto skirt.

4:37:30pm--Mop up water paying particular attention to the bleach spot on my skirt.  (FAIL)

4:38:00pm--Use bleach pen to try to get eye shadow out.  (FAIL)

4:39:30pm--Use paper towel from above to wipe my arm.  Smear green eye shadow on the entire underside.

4:39:50pm--Laugh

never forgotten. forever grateful.

All eyes have been on the city this weekend.  And rightly so.  Ten year anniversaries are monumental.  I vividly remember September 11, 2001 and the deep sadness that I felt as the events of the day unfolded. Having just returned from New York City exactly one week prior to the attacks, I felt a tie to the city.  And having lost my father just one year before the attacks, I felt a tie to those who had now tragically lost loved ones.  I remember feeling, once again, a deep, deep sadness and intimately knew the pain and tears of those thousands of families left behind.  I knew that their story was different than mine, but the loss and heartache that came with that loss was the same.

I moved to the city less than 2 years later and have called New York City my home ever since.  My love for the city and my love for the people who reside here grows each year.  As I watch coverage of then and now, those feelings of sadness still well up.  But along with these sad memories, a sense of pride for those that willingly risked their lives on behalf of others also stirs and gratitude for the many miracles that took place & lives that were saved also surfaces.  I hope that this anniversary will remind us of what is really important--that we rededicate ourselves to love that knows no boundaries, to kindness withheld from no one, and a renewed and abiding faith in God.