Refreshingly Normal
09-15-2001,

Refreshingly Normal...

September 15, 2001

Today was our niece Sarah's Birthday Party. She turned 4 yesterday (Happy Birthday Princess Sarah - note, she loves anything to do with Princesses). We had to drive the 2 hours to Racine to attend her birthday party today, and we took Stephen's parents with us. At first, to be honest, I didn't feel like going. It just didn't feel like a party type of day. Everything has been so depressing around here and everywhere these days, and I really wanted to just lay here and watch the news some more. Now that we are back home, I have to say, I am so glad we went. It was so refreshingly normal... comforting even. Occasionally the talk turned to the turmoil that the world is in, and the news was kept on in the living room, and we even watched it now and again, but it was so nice to be with family, to play with the kids, to sing Happy Birthday to Sarah and to watch her love her presents.

I don't know what will happen in the world from here, and it is scary and it's very much in our minds, but it is also good to resume somewhat of a normal life. Tomorrow we are going to Stephen's basketball game, and hopefully to our nephew's football game as well. Everytime I begin to feel a tiny bit guilty about going on with life, while so many out there are not able to, I remind myself that life has to continue, and that by becoming a shell of our former selves, we allow the enemy to win. We can go on, we can even laugh again, and it's okay. It doesn't make us care any less than we do, and it doesn't mean that we aren't worried about the current state of the world around us, but I can't spend 24 hours a day thinking about it anymore. I am just emotionally incapable of doing so. Okay, I am going back to watch more of the news now, LOL... I didn't say I was stopping completely, just taking breaks away from it. Slowly, we will begin to heal and get back to somewhat of a normal state. I wish for Peace for all of us.