By J1 Reporter Vada Herrera

On Sept. 11, 2001 something unforgettable happened. Although many were not in New York City when disasters struck, it became a tragedy for all. 

Jackie and Francisco, who also happen to be my parents, were living in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Four of my older siblings were already around and my mom was pregnant with the fifth. My dad went to work each day in Battle Creek, Michigan, which was about 45 minutes away from their home in Kalamazoo.

It was a calm Tuesday morning in early September when the disaster struck. Jackie was home alone with my older sisters, who were 1 and 3 at the time. Her sons were off at grade school as carefree kids with no worries. “The morning was still, and the girls were still in their pj’s”, my mom describes. She continues to explain, “I was feeding them breakfast and the tv was on in the living room which we could briefly hear in the background. It was like any other morning until it wasn’t.” That’s when it happened. She saw it on the TV and froze. “The world is ending” she thought to herself. Immediately, the phone rang. It was her husband Francisco, who was at work, frantically calling Jackie to make sure they were okay and if she had seen the news. The phone call was filled with confusion and worry but she had no time to waste. Instantly, she got the girls in the car – mid breakfast – and rushed to the boys elementary school. The front office was soon greeted by the scared individual and her two daughters still in their pajamas and unbrushed morning hair. They were there to get the two boys from school and bring them home.When she reached the front office, the secretary questioned her and said that no one else was getting called out of school early. She didn’t care, she was going to pick them up. 

How come she went and got them if they were more than 700 miles away? You may ask. Well, when you hear of mothers’ intuition or how a mom would do just about anything for their children, I am lucky enough to experience it. No matter how far away they may have been from the accident, my mom was going to do one thing for certain: protect her babies.

After she had picked them up from school they went home for a while and innocently played. They later got pizza for lunch and brought it home. While at their time in Michigan they only ate outside once, this was the once. “The early days remained to be still, but something felt different. It felt as though all the other problems disappeared and everyone was worrying together. Everything felt more quiet.” Watching her kids play around the porch and eat their pizza, she realized how lucky she truly was. 

Although my family may have been miles away from the incident, it still affected them. And truthfully, it affected anyone who was alive that day. My mother stresses the importance of being aware of your surroundings and always staying safe. “You never know what can happen”, she says. Which is true. You should never take what you have for granted because you never know what could happen, even to the mass population.

Never Forget!