Like most people in the U.S., I remember with vivid detail, where I was and what I was doing on September 11th, 2001. The terrifying television images are burned in my memory forever and the sadness at the loss of life and the grief that followed has lessened little in ten years. Some will honor those who perished with monuments, speeches and memorials. I however, honor them by recognizing their sacrifice in a different way.
Every American was affected by those horrific events in some way, but it’s the positive results we created from those negative experiences that honor the victims of 9/11 and brings value to their sacrifice.
Many reacted with patriotism and a greater sense of community. I remember riding down the street with my future husband on his Harley in the days after the attack. I’d sewn an American flag to the back of my shirt and it seemed like everyone waved, shouted or honked as we rode by. I remember the pride and honor I felt to be part of that rising tide of patriotism. Suddenly, a nation that had become apathetic to the blessings they’d inherited from their forefathers had opened their eyes and hearts to remember we all stand for something. And that something is worth fighting for.
My father was a great fan of Thomas Jefferson and he sometimes quoted the words inscribed under the dome of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., “…I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” To me, these words have always represented the epitome of the promise of this great nation.
It was only natural then, that I would look to the greatest lesson I’d learned from 9/11 and apply it to my life, yet not allow it’s implications to tyrannize me into inaction. That lessons was simple, life is fleeting. That being said, there is no time to waste on a life of “quiet desperation” as Thoreau wrote. I knew it was high time I lived my life deliberately.
How many dreams had I let slip away as the years passed by and life got in the way. Although, I had a good job, lived in an upscale suburb and my son was attending a very good school I had little “food for the soul”, as my mother often said. As a child, I’d dreamed of returning to my home town and living in the country. As a young adult I’d dreamed of being a writer, yet I hadn’t written in years. And for 15 years I’d dreamed of spending the rest of my life with the love of my life, yet he was still living 40 minutes away and it was difficult finding time to spend with him.
That January I married Myron, during an ice storm that crippled the city. All in all, that night was an excellent primer for our marriage. Since then, it’s been one adventure after another with a lot of hard work along the way.
In January of 2004, my son was a senior in high school and I decided it was time to pursue my dream of moving to the country. Myron and I had looked at houses to buy in our area, but we had little savings and it was difficult finding financing, so I pushed Myron in the car and we made the hour and a half drive to my families’ property near Lake Ontario. Once we arrived, we worked our way to the interior of the property and came upon the main feature of the land — a 20 foot ridge overlooking a creek valley. Myron took one look and said “Let’s do it.”. Then, “How are we going to do it?”
I started my research by entering “Mortgage Free Home Building” on Google. I sorted through all the links for get rich quick schemes and finally came upon a book, called Mortgage-Free!: Radical Strategies for Home Ownership on Amazon.com. When I clicked on the author’s name Rob Roy I found the answer I was looking for: Complete Book Of Cordwood Masonry Housebuilding: The Earthwood Method. A quick search on Google brought me to a host of sites all about Cordwood Masonry and I was off and running.
It’s been a long, bumpy road toward self-reliance here at Lakewood Hollow. Still, today I take a moment to remember the moment that propelled me to start this journey. And I honor those whose lives were lost, by living everyday deliberately.
What lessons did you learn from the events on 9/11? What decisions have you made because of them? How do you honor those who lost their lives?
