How Did I Miss the Twin Towers?

Have you ever noticed how we don't notice the things we should notice?

Oh, I do a great job of noticing things that bother me. The mounds of paper clutter on my kitchen counter. The student who talks out of turn while I'm teaching a lesson. The repetitive commercial that makes no sense.

But do we notice the good stuff? The meaningful, true, and lovely? The stuff that, if suddenly taken from us, would leave a gaping hole so large we would be forever changed?

Today, on 9-11, our thoughts turn to the World Trade Centers. Completed in 1973, these two massive towers rose above the New York skyline, demanding to be noticed.

Seven years after their completion, at the age of 17, I made my first trip to NYC for the kickoff of a European tour with a concert band of kids from around the country. Before and after our rehearsals, I had a blast hanging out with other young musicians and making new friends.

When my husband and I later visited the Big Apple in 2015, we spent over four hours at the World Trade Center 9-11 Memorial. Thinking back, I remembered my high school days and how I had seen the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and other New York landmarks.

But I couldn't remember the World Trade Center. I wondered, "How is that even possible?”

Later, at home, I came across a box of memories. Inside was the journal from that trip to Europe and NYC, and some old yellowed photographs. I began searching. I knew there had to be proof that I had seen the Trade Center in person before the towers fell. I read my journal. No mention of the World Trade Center. I looked carefully at every photo. No sign of the two towers. How could I have missed them? Or if I'd seen them, how could I not be impressed enough to photograph or mention them in my writing? Worse yet, I had no memory of them.

As I ponder the importance of those buildings now, the beautiful lives that were taken there, and the impact that the attack had on our country, I am deeply saddened that I apparently hadn't even noticed them. Once they were gone, these buildings filled me with awe and wonder and a deep sense of loss.

Losing those towers has left a void so large that our lives will never be the same.

Here we stand as a country 19 years later. With the Coronavirus as the invisible enemy, our country is under attack once again. We’re facing unfathomable losses. The pandemic has taken much from us, including nearly 200,000 lives. It has taken everyday joys and has left emptiness where once there were jobs, packed stadiums, full restaurants, concerts, graduations, parties, and parades.

Like the obvious towers I overlooked, I wonder how we didn’t notice the beauty of life before the pandemic when it was here for us to enjoy. How could we take so many rich blessings for granted?

I'm challenging myself to try again. To take notice. To savor the moments of beauty. To love the people I’m blessed to be with. Larger than life itself, these are the gifts worth noticing.

So stop. Snap a photo. Write a journal entry. Record a memory.

It’s sobering to remind ourselves that nothing on this earth is forever. Someday the comforts, the beauty, the home, and the people we love may be gone.

Pray when that time comes, the memories we’re making today will fill the empty spaces they leave behind.