September 11th

It's been a few months since my last blog post. Things are busy. Life is good. Anna and I just watched the NY1 coverage of the WTC memorial........What to say. All appropriate emotions were present. Today, six years ago, Anna and I sat at a table in the Equinox fitness club on 19th street (where I was working) watching the events of the day unfold. She had made her way uptown from Bank Street in the West Village with thousands of other New Yorkers heading north. After the queasy feeling of not knowing where she was for the first few hours of that morning, we stayed at the gym for a while, watching it transform from a high end "club" to a temporary stopping point for people to sit, check in with the TV, shower off the dust, or try to contact family. Our life pivoted that morning, as did all of ours. I remembered that my brother-in-law was scheduled to come in to New York from Boston either by train or plane.
"What time?" I asked the night before.
"Early." he said.
"On my sister's Birthday?" I asked
"She said it was alright." he answered.

Yeah.....my sisters birthday.
The news that the first plane to hit the towers took off from Logan airport in Boston was already out. The cell phone towers were maxed out. It took a while to get through to him. He was scheduled to come to NY by train. But luckily not that early. The train never left Boston.

Anna tried to get through to her parents in Calgary. It took a couple of hours. When she did. I heard her say to her father "I love you too." So there I was....... sitting with my girlfriend, experiencing the reality of this event and I realized "There has to be more to life than what I've done so far." My vision shifted dramatically. I was the closest I've ever been to my own mortality. "What will I leave behind when I have to go?"

Bottom line - Anna and I grew closer on that day and in the days to follow. Now we're married and we're working on our impact on the world.
We honor the victims and the first responders who gave the ultimate sacrifice. The soldiers who fight bravely - right now - for a foggy cause and most importantly............

We celebrate life. On my sisters birthday. The giving of life. The continuium of life. Our human condition and all appropriate emotions that are present.