I was bathing my 1 1/2 year old son oblivious to the fact that the world outside was drastically changing by the second. Normally I would have had the morning news on the television but my little man got sick on this morning. His bedclothes needed washing and he needed comforting along with a good bath. Life was happening and I didn’t take the time to flip on the news, assuming it would be a carbon copy of yesterday. Comfortable monotony would again reign supreme. Life would continue to unwind before me as it did every other day.

I finally got around to turning on the television. What I saw was not real; it could not be. I am not naive; I have understood for quite some time that this is an unpredictable and all too often violent world. Everyone is vunerable; no one is immune. What I could not comprehend was the reality. I sat on my couch as my head swam. I watched in utter horror and disbelief as the towers crumbled and disappeared from the most famous skline in the world. The room spun out of control around me. Only the television, a window into an evil and vile corner of humanity, remained constant. Time ceased to exist.

Raw emotion swirled inside me. I hugged my son tightly, kissed him, told him I loved him over and over as he laughed and played at my feet.

I prayed for the souls lost. I prayed for those left behind. I prayed for the hundreds of heroic souls converging on the mayhem, laying down their lives to protect the lives of countless others. I prayed for fathers…mothers…brothers…sisters…sons…daughters. I prayed for my country. I sobbed, not knowing how to handle the pain, the shock, the anger. I even questioned the One I prayed to. How? Why?…Why?…Why? I reluctantly accepted the fact that I, in my mortal mind, will never understand nor will I ever find adequate answers.

I carried on my day. Breakfast for my son. I was unable to eat but a 1 1/2 year old cannot take a break from life, life must go on. This day was surreal, a day I cannot comprehend. The reality of it is unattainable; I believe it will remain so for quite some time. I hugged my son tightly, wondering about his tomorrows.

God Bless America, now more than ever.