09/11/2026
This is a picture of me and my mother at the top of the World Trade Towers in NYC probably around 1997 on one of my first trips to NY. It’s amazing to think I was even able to take this photo. By 2001 I was finished with grad school and had just moved back to Austin and was looking for a job. That morning I watched the TV in disbelief knowing the entire world would never be the same again. It’s a day I’ll never forget. And not just the one day….but the weeks, months, and years to come. I recall a few weeks later parking my car and suddenly bursting into tears as my brain had just reached a new level of processing the grief of the era. I still feel like the same person I was back then. 2001 doesn’t feel like 25 years ago. It’s amazing to think there is a whole generation of adults in the workforce now that doesn’t remember that day. My own daughter has never experienced having Grandma & Grandpa walk us to our gate to say goodbye after a long distance visit. In fact, we took her to Disney for the first time this summer and she walked through metal detectors and bag searches on the way into the park. I didn’t have to do that when I was last there 35 years ago. My our world has changed! I’ll certainly never forget.
