Today we remember September 11. Everyone mourns in their own way, and I look back on this day with the memories of our visit to Manhattan. My daughter was six years old, and this was our first visit to New York. We saw the t-shirt, I Love New York, at the airport on our arrival. Making our journey into the city via subway was a surreal experience. I have to admit, I felt claustrophobic for a bit as we finally stepped foot onto the street level. There were people everywhere as far as the eye could see.

They say that you can tell a tourist from a local here because all of the tourists are looking up, but how could you not? The city breathes and gives off pure inspiration all around. I felt overwhelmed with excitement on my first day. We must have walked for miles, getting into adventures from building to building. I’d never experienced cold wind chills like this before. The city was full of wind tunnel spurts that freeze your face.

Manhattan made me feel tiny, but that was to be expected. I wanted to explore for myself everything that this beautiful place had to offer. There were gems all over Manhattan, and I wished I had more time to discover them all. When you’re seeking adventure, you never realize how tired your feet can get. When you finally do, you stop for a break.

I took my daughter to the Apple Store followed by the famous toy store of all toy stores, F.A.O Schwartz. This place was so amazing. There were so many toys there with price tags ranging in the thousands. We had a fun time going from toy room to toy room, and we even got to experience a performance on the piano from the movie “Big.” I helped my daughter customize her own Barbie, which ended up pricing at $500.00 or so. Of course we did not get it, but there was a Muppet station that we decided was of better (and less expensive) interest.

Beautiful memories were created this day. I’d never seen a smile that big before from either one of us. We had enough of being on foot, so we took a cab over to Ground Zero. On our arrival, we entered a building where tourists lined up around the window across from the construction area to take photos. Some of the people there were recanting their whole experience from that day while the audience listened, and others shed tears. This was the first time my daughter got to hear the story of what had happened here in 2001. She took in the stories of the speakers, and perhaps in some way, played out the events in her head. I don’t really know if she fully understood the tragedy of what September 11 was about because she had only experienced that one side of New York, until now. I could see it in her eyes, and I knew she shared in the sadness of what we all felt recalling that tragic day.

We will never forget what happened on that day. The world had changed for every one of us. It was an incredible feeling to finally be here, walking among the people where so much history had occurred.

I choose to remember September 11 with these memories. The face of my child seeing the beauty this world has to offer, and understanding that outweighs the cruelty we undergo as a people. We will remember days like this, and understand that our time here is precious. We have so much left to see, and we live on, never forgetting those who have lost their lives.