The anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Centers, Pentagon and other targets has come around again today. For many good reasons it is a somber day. It is a day where we remember the 3000+ people who died in the buildings and on the airplanes. We remember the emergency personnel who were heroes in every sense of the word by gambling their own lives to save the lives of others; many of them losing that bet. Our church is preparing a remembrance mass, choirs around the country will offer hymns and prayers for the fallen, the innocent victims and their families. We’ll hear the songs “Let’s Roll” and “Have You Forgotten?“ on the radio a few times; our eyes misting in sad reflection, goosebumps rising at the crescendo of the Patriotic notes with visions of the flag flying and eagles soaring. But the tone will overwhelmingly be one sorrow, sacrifice and Death.
As it should be.
But aren’t we missing something? In all of this talk of Death, we are forgetting about Life.
This morning as I was groggily getting through my first cup of coffee upstairs, I heard my 4 year old crying down at the dining room table. She and her sister were squabbling over something and the resulting tears and sobs were weighing on Celeste’s ears and nerves a bit much for this time of the day. I heard Celeste address her: “Today is the anniversary of 9/11” she started, “a lot of people died on this day in a horrible attack. And whatever you’re crying about is probably not nearly as horrible as what those people faced that day, so please stop.”
Then it hit me. My youngest will be 5 soon. Giving or taking a few months for Nature and timing, let’s do some mental math here. The equation goes something like this: Lots of people die + (people pause and reflect + they consider what is really important to them) x 9 months gestation = Lots of kids turning 5 around America.
Life.
My youngest daughter is the product, the Life, that rose from that day. Up from the Death and destruction and the loss and the anguish rose a little baby. And another. And some more. According to statistics which I am making up but seem pretty sound, the boom of babies resulting from the 9/11 attacks numbers in the millions. Millions. Millions of tiny babies emerging from the womb of chaos and terror. It happened here and in homes across the country, and it bears reflection today. When we remember those who have fallen, let us also look across our dining room tables at our little ones, bickering over the Honeycombs.