On the morning of 9/11/2001, I was walking through my living room and my youngest son, Stafford, was lying on the sofa watching TV. All of a sudden, he flew off the sofa and yelled out! I abruptly stopped, turned and stared in disbelief at the TV. At first I thought it was a sick prank and couldn’t believe someone could be so twisted! The true impact of that horrific plane exploding into the building stunned me in such a way that I couldn't "track" sufficiently to form a complete thought!

In retrospect, standing there alongside Stafford and watching this horror story unfold, time ceased to have any meaning. All of my values and beliefs were shaken to the core and I hardly knew who I was, where I was, where I had been, where I was going!

When the second plane hit, I knew then that the world we had grown accustomed to had been blown apart and nothing would ever be the same.

I now know, with the ensuing years and all of the losses and heartache therein, the only thing we have (a nanosecond in the grand scheme of the universe) is the choice to make every living moment count in a meaningful and sustaining way.

My greatest joys in life have been the gift of 3 incredible sons who have all of my love and have earned my great admiration/respect --- along with the blessings of grandchildren.

We have all suffered varying degrees of “exploding planes” in our own lives. With that in mind, I fervently pray for the families, parents, children and friends of those lost on 9/11. If I could have one request answered from Above, it would be that the bygone days of enduring love remain as their everlasting and sole memory.

The most precious commodity that is ours alone is our “our allotted time”. Each of us chooses how to invest that gift……… May we never forget those we have lost and I pray that I choose wisely on spending my "allotted time!"