An Unexpected Journey: TWO

It's hard not to feel a little bittersweet today. On the one hand, we celebrate the 2nd birthday of Luke and Olivia, but on the other hand, we remember the tragic events of ten years ago this date. I can't possibly write today without including some thoughts on this anniversary of 9/11. As we all do, I remember so vividly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news. The most difficult part of that day for me was to face my classroom of 32 second graders and put on a brave face, as though our world had not just been changed forever. As a team, the teachers decided it was better not to let the children know what had happened that morning as we felt it was best left up to their parents to explain the tragic events that had unfolded. Many parents picked up their children early that day, but for the rest, we had to go about our business as usual. I had to hold back the tears until I got home from school that day and sat glued to the television watching the coverage. I heard from an old friend today, my dear teaching partner then, who remembered what we went through together during that time as we dealt with our own feelings of anger and sadness, while also helping our confused second graders grasp what happened. We wrote letters to the heroes, held fundraisers for the families, and had moments of silence in honor of the lives lost. I remember and will never forget.

I so wanted to avoid delivering Luke and Olivia on 9/11, but they had plans of their own and so here we are balancing a day of celebration with a day of remembrance. As I've written before, they were prepping me for my c-section at 11:45pm on the 10th. I jokingly asked if they could speed things up and deliver the babies before midnight, but out they came at 12:10 and 12:11am...our two little miracles: miracles both in how they were conceived (same as Jackson), but mostly in the fact that we came so dangerously close to losing both of them at week 19 of my pregnancy.

It must be an annual ritual for parents to say I can't believe ________ is turning ___ years old. I've said it every year since Jackson was born, and I say it even more emphatically with Luke and Olivia as time seems to be moving at lightning-fast speed these days. I really can't believe they are two years old now! We find ourselves, out of habit, still referring to them as "the babies" and they are no where near "babies" anymore.

Their first picture together (the day Luke came home from the hospital)...