It was my birthday and today I would be 16 years old. The day of passage from a child to a young woman was happening. I was so excited even though I missed my dad who had passed away earlier in the year. His passing had created financial problems for our family so I quit school and went to work in a local cigar factory to help make ends meet. Mom was taking in ironing and my other sisters and one brother all found work to help out at home.
It was a beautiful day. The sky was almost entirely blue and God had stroked in a few white, tiny clouds here and there. The palm tree outside the kitchen window was blowing slightly from a cool breeze that cooled the warm tropical air of my hometown. It was Sunday and soon everyone would be rising and the smell of ham slices would fill the house. Mom made eggs and ham every Sunday morning and today she would add in biscuits – my favorite thing – for my birthday breakfast. Life was good, I thought. Dad would be missed but I was assured he was in heaven. He was a man of God and had taught us about Jesus before he fell asleep forever.
We went to church after breakfast and then on to my grandmother’s house for a special birthday lunch with my extended family. The radio was on in grandma’s den as it always was. The men gathered around to hear the football game and yell when a touchdown was made by their team.
After my birthday lunch, we gathered to open presents and churn the ice cream. The smaller kids ran outside to play slamming the screen door over and over again as they returned to check on the status of the vanilla ice cream being hand cranked by my uncle.
Suddenly everything stood still. The sounds of joy and family time was interrupted by a crackle on the radio and these words:
We were under attack and my life and those standing around that small radio in my grandma’s den would be changed forever. Those who hated America and all we stood for had declared war on us. My birthday celebrations would never be the same as I thought of those innocent men and women who had died at the hands of evil men.
After hours of listening to reports on the radio, we headed back to our home watching the skies for any possible attack on us millions of miles away from Hawaii. We all huddled in my mother’s bed that night while she prayed and asked God to keep us safe. The youngest among us cried for daddy wishing he would come back and keep us safe from the bad men.
My 16th birthday had started out with a blue sky and a cool breeze and had turned to a scary night in my mother’s bed. As we began to fall asleep, my mother sang Christmas songs to help us calm down. “O Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining, it is the night of our dear saviors birth. “ Mom was scared but she turned to Jesus for her comfort and ours. We would be okay and life would begin again tomorrow.
A message from my daughter:
In just a few months, I would celebrate my birthday and would turn 21 years of age! The biggest birthday of all was about to happen and I could not wait. I was in college and working part time at my mom’s office. I felt all grown up and soon I would be a real woman.
I awoke to a beautiful morning. The sky was blue with just a few wispy clouds here and there. The palm tree outside our kitchen window was blowing slightly and the smell of breakfast cooking filled the house as I readied for work. Mom was heading out early for a business trip but wanted to fix breakfast before she left. I loved spending the mornings with her. We were both morning people and we got along best in the mornings before the scars of the day would wear on our relationship.
She had made cheese and egg croissants and we ate and talked as we sipped coffee – hers was black and mine was filled with milk and sugar. She was in a rush to get on the road and I walked her to the door and we said our good-byes. She was making a day trip down south and would be back later that evening.
I got to the office about 8:00 and we were planning a large event for 400 CEOs the next month so I had a lot of work to do. One of the ladies in the office listened to the radio in her office. It was kept low on her desk and she would periodically shout out something she heard on the radio to the others. She was a talk radio junkie and loved to share her thoughts with the rest of us. I thought she was a little crazy but I was only 20 and had not fully awakened to the world yet.
As I headed to the kitchen for another cup of coffee, I heard her gasp and scream out, “Turn on the tv. The World Trade Center has been hit by an airplane.”
I called Mom on her cell phone and told her what was happening. She had heard the news too as she traveled down I-95 towards her destination. She tried to calm me down but mom could not see the images. She could only hear the words. The words were not enough to scare her yet. I begged her to turn around and come home but mom was loyal to her employer and said it would be all right.
The staff stood in that office kitchen and I called mom to tell her to come home about every 5 minutes. I cried and cried as I watched the people of NY run through the streets out of fear for their lives.
When Mom got to her destination, she was able to see the images and the realization of what had happened sunk in. She called to reassure me but I knew she was scared to be so far away from us. We prayed together on the phone and she sent all of her staff home to be with their families.
I met dad, grandma and my brother at home and we stayed glued to the TV all day and into the night calling Mom on her cell phone to see if she was okay. Mom would not make it back from her day trip until later that evening and we ran to her car as she pulled into the driveway. I had never hugged my mom so tight as I did that night when our world changed forever.
We didn’t sleep in our beds in fear that something would happen during the night as we slept. We cuddled on the couches – my dad with me leaning against him and my mom rubbing my brother’s back as he fell asleep with his head in her lap. My grandmother had seen this before and assured me that the stars were brightly shining and God was still in charge.
A message from me:
My mother in law will turn 87 today. My daughter will turn 31 this week. Both have experienced evil in their worlds yet both remain calm with the assurance that God sent his son so that those who believed would have everlasting life. When evil shows up at their doorsteps, neither are afraid because God is with them.
September 11th was our December 7th and another day like those two days will dawn on America again. Children who are small will one day experience evil just like we did. They will have their day and our God will be there with them when it happens.
Our job is to let them know that the one who made the sky blue and the starry night shine is Holy and loves us more than we can fathom.
May you pause to remember December 7th and those who lost their lives that terrible day.
Hug your kids, your family and your friends and remember He is still in charge.
Enjoy our special Christmas song for today and remember, He is still Holy!
Billie J. Tucker
CEO/Executive Coach/Corporate Facilitator/Tea Party Leader
Billie Tucker has spent her entire career working with CEOs and executives. She has earned a reputation for her keen understanding of the motivations, challenges and goals of executives and her experience in coaching them to become more effective. Because of her experiences, she has emerged as a key source for the media and others who want to understand important insights about executives, management teams and Board dynamics.
