remembering

The other day I can across a poem I wrote on September 11, 2001. It seemed unfinished, until I reflected on it today and wrote a bit more. I have been a little reflective in light of it being a decade since that fateful, ultimately, world changing day. Life is certainly different now, than it was then.

September 11, 2001

The day the world changed

Four planes hijacked

Two towers crumbled

Thousands lost their lives

It seemed so far away

And yet it seemed so close

September 11, 2001

Nothing will ever be the same

An act of terror changes all

What once seemed impossible

Is now reality in my corner of the world

A safe place seems safe no longer

The world is forever changed

September 11, 2011

Ten years later

The world is a different place

Forever changed by one day

That no one can forget

There is no going back

To what it was before

September 11, 2011

The events of a decade ago

Still etched on everyone's minds

As if they happened yesterday

So many heroes died that day

As they tried to save another

They will not be forgotten

Just a little while ago, I came across this link to a video that was a moving tribute to those on 9/11.

my dad

In the past few months I have had many opportunities to think about my dad and to reflect on the fact that I am lucky to still have him in my life. I have written about most of the rest of my family - my mom, my sisters, my grandparents - on this blog, but my dad has been absent from most posts. This has not been intentional, but it has been unfortunate when I reflect on it now. I still have my dad around and in my life regularly, but I know far too many people who do not, and I do not want to take that for granted.

My dad is a man who works hard to provide for his family. I have always admired that in him. And yet, as a little kid, I still remember the excitement my sisters and I had when he came home from work each day. We would run to greet him and he would quickly have his arms full of three kids. I do not know if that was the best part of the day for him, but it was for us.

Involvement at church was always modelled as important. My dad has always been involved in something at church. And I grew up feeling that it was something that was an important part of life, because my dad made it a priority in his life.

Growing up, life included a never-ending series of water fights and throwing nerf balls or other stuffed toys around. The right comment at the right time would bring laughter and something thrown. Or in the midst of a water fight, a bucket of water dumped on my head.

I guess I sometimes find it so easy to forget about all these good things about my dad, because we do not always get along well. We have our differences and they have ended in fights more than they should have. And then I do forget about the good stuff. It seems easier to focus on the bad stuff in relationships, but the last few months on many opportunities I have been reminded of how lucky I am to have the dad I do.

I know that my dad does not read this blog, and will probably never know what I have written here unless I show it to him, and maybe I will one day. I am proud to call my dad, my dad. And, even in the times when we are not getting along I would not change having him as my dad for anything. I know that when it gets down to it, he will be there when I need him, no matter what, and I know that he loves me. I could not ask for more.

failure? or an opportunity to learn and try again?

I was struck by a quote that I came across the other day.

If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down. (Mary Pickford)

From my experience, I would say that much of the time our world defines failures as it something not working the first time. Even the dictionary defines failure this way: "an act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success; nonperformance of something due, required, or expected." But, maybe this definition limits us and holds us back from things.

What if we began to see failure as not getting up and trying again when something does not work. Maybe, like the quote above, we need to see things as mistakes and seek to learn from them and try again. How would that change things?When I read that, I found myself reflecting on what it is that I call failure in my life. Do I see failure as the times when I try something and it does not work as I hoped it would? Or do I see failure as the times when I try something and it does nto work as I hoped it would, but I get back up an try again?