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Now my mind is taking a walk down memory lane. Do you remember where you were on April 19, 1995?


Now my mind is taking a walk down memory lane. 
Do you remember where you were on April 19, 1995?

I was sitting at the foot of my bed, 
watching a game show and chatting with 
my sister back in Minnesota.
I had just moved back to Oklahoma
on August 19, 1994.

I still remember hearing her voice when she,
noticing before I did,
heard the news break-in and she gasped.
Her first question:
"None of the kids went on a field trip
to Oklahoma City today, did they?"

I could tell by her voice that it was BIG!
I turned to the television and saw the images
of the smoking building,
the huge HOLE in the ground.

We didn't speak for minutes,
both of us "listening" to the television,
which felt like a lifetime.
Finally, I told her I'd call her later, said "I love you"
 and hung up.

I headed to the middle school and
elementary school just across the street
from my apartment complex,
3-yr-old in tow,
to bring my babies home!

The kids had no idea what was going on,
my oldest who was in middle school had "heard" stuff.
But I remember getting them home and 
just having the most fun day we could have...
away from the television and the news.

Played at the park, played tackle football with
my boys and their friends,
who were all middle school and younger.

Then four days later made the drive (about an hour or so)
to OKC to show my children a piece of history.

The pacifiers, shoes, stuffed animals,
and other mementos on the fence
brought me to tears, sobs actually.

The fence wasn't around the block at that time,
it merely circled the gaping hole
in the ground in front of the Murrah Building.

The "Survivor Tree" had a wimpy
fence around it, but we were able to touch it.
I said a prayer as I laid my hand on the tree.

My youngest didn't understand,
my middle two (kindergarten and 2nd grade)
weren't quite sure what we were looking at.
But my oldest knew more and
clearly FELT more.

How I wish I had known then that
9/11 would happen.
I was one of the most patriotic people alive
while my children grew up, still am.
And that's why my boys are Army and
Army National Guard.
Both have deployed.

We visited often, watching them create 
the amazing Memorial.
But the day we went through the museum,
where the huge doors closed automatically behind us
so that we could sit, watch and FEEL the bomb as it hit...
that day changed my world and I'm certain
it changed my boys' lives.

I'm not sorry I walked my children through
that entire tragedy, monthly and sometimes weekly.
But I am sorry that on June 7, 2007 
I put my oldest son on that "white bus" and
watched as he went to war.

I knew he WANTED to serve his country,
but that didn't make it easier.
I felt guilty for involving my children so much
in the homegrown terrorism that now they
felt the need to protect their country (family)
by going off to war.

Enough... memory lane is taking me to
a place I wish I'd never been.
But I believe WHOLEHEARTEDLY
that I need to share with all of my
Frugal Friends and you ALL need to share
with your family, friends and loved ones.

Click HERE to read an article on the
OKC Bombing on April 19, 1993.
Where were you?

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It is purely informational and is not meant to imply
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