home messageboard   memorials jenette's poems news links

Dear friends,

If you are reading this, I know that you are a friend indeed. You still remember even though seven long years have passed since 9-11.I am here at lake Metigoshe spending the day with my memories of Ann. This is a place she loved with all her heart and where she often came to rest, reflect and/or have fun . Gary made his annual journey to New York-another place that Ann loved with all her heart. He had a number of travel problems because of weather, but has made it safely so far.

I began the day by going through one of Ann's albums. (She has many) the first thing that fell onto my lap was a large colored copy of the last photo we had taken together. We were at an outdoor wedding sitting on a bench which was surrounded by beautiful flowers. How we laughed that day! I had on new shoes that hurt my feet. Ann found that hilarious for some reason. She had a way of turning everything into fun. The next pictures were of her baby years and proceeded onto her birthdays, skii trips, sports activities, her many pets, friends, family etc.-- and through it all she was smiling and laughing. What beautiful memories she leaves of a life well lived! I wonder about the men who flew those planes that fateful day. Were their growing -up years not full of love and laughter? What filled them with such hate? What are their mothers doing today? I think the answers are important to know if we are to prevent another 9-11. The time that the media calls the "day that changed America.

I am trying to carry out the items on Ann's list. Right now I am working on the first one. "Be healthy/healthful". I find it interesting that she distinguished between healthy and healthful.Both Gary and I have had health problems since 9-11. You don't always have a choice about being healthy, but you do have a choice as to whether or not you will live in a healthful way. So I am doing regular exercise and watching what I eat, and I have lost a little weight and feel a little better.. Such a wise daughter! I feel her presense about me often and hear her thoughts and words inside my head at the most opportune times. If love could have saved her, she would have lived forever. I believe that she does.

Love,
Annie's Mom