The Day The World Went Mad
On September 11, 2001, I told my then-husband, Ryan, I was done. We had been trying to get pregnant for over a year, and as I watched the tragedy in New York City unfold, I decided I would not bring a child into this crazy world. Hopeless and helpless, I gave up.
On June 17, 2002 (40 weeks and one day later), Aiden Alexander Rothschild was born. Just when I thought the light had been extinguished, a child became my beacon of hope.
In 2011, I took Aiden to Ground Zero and told him about the day the world went mad. Aiden read stories and letters left behind by family members and asked questions about the people who carried out such an incomprehensible act. We cried as we stared at the photos of those now gone and listened to recordings from survivors. We talked about forgiveness and the power of love. We wrote messages of hope to the world and released them into the wind. We hugged strangers, and we talked about the power of creating beautiful things in a world that sometimes looks ugly. I told him the world is a much better place because he is in it and that where there is darkness, there is also light.
When the world shocks you, when your life unravels, when the pain feels unbearable, when confusion sets in...create. When you are happy, giddy with joy, feeling peace...create. Never stop creating because the world needs the beauty you have inside of you. No matter what, you must let your light shine because the world needs a beacon and that beacon just may be your creation.
Today, I honor ALL of your creations! The written ones, the painted ones, the hand-made ones, the human ones, anything that you have created. More than ever, they are ALL important.
In remembrance of all of those beautiful creations who lost their lives on this day in 2001. May their light shine on through eternity.