Where were You When the World Stopped Turning?

It was a beautiful, sunny, September morning, trying to get back into the same routine after a long summer break. My mother was three months pregnant, with her third child, my brother Christopher. It was around six in the morning that her alarm clock went off. She woke up, got dressed, and got my sister Brittany, and I ready to go back to school. She dropped us off, and then headed to her job at Allstate Insurance in Greenlawn. It was at that moment when the spokesman on the radio came on with some breaking news. This morning was unlike any others. 

“This just in, an aircraft just crashed into a building,” the radio had just announced while she was on her way to work. In her mind, she thought “How crazy, a plane just flew into a building.” She had no clue or inclination that we were under attack and how this day would change her whole life.

It wasn’t until she was sitting at her desk at work when friends and family started calling her, asking if Jim was okay. At that point my mom realized something very serious was happening. My father always called her at 9:30 a.m. every day. It was now past 9:30 and there was no phone call. After that moment of realization, my mom put on the office TV. She had no cell phone, only my dad had one. That was when this ordinary September day became one of the worst days of her life. 

Throughout the morning, she still had no contact with my dad. She learned that the airplane that crashed into a building was a passenger jet that was deliberately flown into one of the World Trade Towers. Not long after, another friend called her, telling her that they saw my dad on TV, and he appeared to be okay. Work dragged on that day as she waited patiently for a phone call from my dad. 

Eventually, my mom left work because she wasn’t getting anything done. She was too worried and distracted wondering if my dad was okay and still alive. She left her office and went to my grandparents house, my father’s parents, where my sister and I were. Not long before she left work, my dad was able to locate a phone in a gas station. All cell phones had no service. He called her and said he only had a moment to talk. He just wanted to say he loved her, and he would be okay. He will try to call again. Although it was one of the shortest phone calls of her life, it was the best one. While being at my grandparents, the adults were waiting around, watching the news, pacing back and forth, unsure what to do. My sister and I entertained ourselves because we didn’t understand what was going on. 

As time went on, my mom, sister, and I went home. Nothing changed when we got home though. My sister and I sat in front of the TV with the news on. All I remember is being about four years old and my mom was pacing back and forth in the kitchen, making a million phone calls. My sister and I kept telling my mom, “We see daddy on TV,” although it wasn’t true, we thought we did. Throughout the rest of the day into the next, my mom received random phone calls from my dad saying he was still okay, and that he loved her. Two days later, my dad walked through our home. We were overjoyed. God truly blessed us by keeping him safe and sending him home to us.

Vocabulary:

1. Insurance(noun): an agreement in which a person makes regular payments to a company and the company promises to pay money if the person is injured or dies, or to pay money equal to the value of something (such as a house or car) if it is damaged, lost, or stolen
2. Aircraft(noun): a machine (such as an airplane or a helicopter) that flies through the air
3. Inclination(noun): a feeling of wanting to do something: a tendency to do something
4. Realization(noun): a state of understanding or becoming aware of something
5. Ordinary(adjective): in the normal or usual way: as something is always done
6. Contact(verb): to call or write to (someone or something): to communicate with (someone or something)
7. Deliberately(adverb): in a way that is meant, intended, or planned
8. Patiently(adjective): able to remain calm and not become annoyed when waiting for a long time or when dealing with problems or difficult people
9. Distracted(adjective): unable to think or pay attention to something
10. Locate(verb): to find the place or position of (something or someone)

Vocabulary Exercise:

Directions: Put the vocabulary word in alphabetical order

1. ______________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ______________________________
4. ______________________________
5. ______________________________
6. ______________________________
7. ______________________________
8. ______________________________
9. ______________________________
10. ______________________________

Grammar Point:

There are many different types of punctuation.

• Period (.): used at the end of a sentence
• Exclamation Point (!): used at the end of a command or exclamation 
• Question Mark (?): used at the end of the question 

Grammar Exercise:

Directions: Write 5 sentences using different punctuations. 

1. ______________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ______________________________
4. ______________________________
5. ______________________________