September 10

The mood is entirely different this year compared to one year ago.  Then, we perched on the edge of a historic remembrance, can it really have been ten years?  The mental images and remembrances as well as the repeated television images were so vivid of September 11.

Now,  the mood is of fortified calm.  Calm because the heightened expectation to commemorate 10 years is not present.  Fortified because the events have folded into our national consciousness as well as our personal consciousness as a permanent part of our identity.

This year, September 10 is a Monday.  Just like it was 11 years ago.  This year, the weather feels like autumn and the sky looks like summer.  This year, the pace of common life seems 'normal' with another national election.  This  year, people have a familiar ways of remembering.  This year, we have matured with this annual event so that we can look back to see how our lives have changed and look ahead to anticipate what the impact continues to be.  This year, September 10 means the next chapter of the next ten years.