9/11 - 20th Anniversary

Today marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11, a day the world stood still. We always will honor and remember those tragically lost in the 9/11 attacks and salute all first responders who went above and beyond for our great nation and who continue to do so every day. 

During the attacks in 2001, 2,996 people were killed, 19 hijackers committed murder–suicide, and more than 6,000 others were injured. Of those who perished during the initial attacks and the subsequent collapses of the Towers, 343 were New York City firefighters, 23 were New York City police officers and 37 were officers at the Port Authority. The victims ranged in age from two to 85 years. Approximately 75-80% of the victims were men.

At the Pentagon in Washington, 184 people were killed when hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building.

Near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 40 passengers and crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 93 died when the plane crashed into a field. It is believed that the hijackers crashed the plane in that location, rather than their unknown target, after the passengers and crew attempted to retake control of the flight deck.

Every picture, video or eye witness report from that tragic day brings back tears. Seeing the faces of firefighters, ordinary business men staring in disbelief at the burning World Trade Centers will forever be seared in to my mind. 

Where have you been that tragic day? I just arrived in the US a few days prior, watching in horror the events unfold on TV while babysitting, not really comprehending what that may mean. I will forever remember this day but also the next days/ months that came after that as the empathy, unity and public patriotism was striking and comforting. We all were Americans grieving the losses, frightened what else may come, turning to each for a hug and not caring what race, skin color, sexual orientation, political view or religion one held. 

Never Forget 9/11

Snow Much Fun!!!

Y'all, it snowed it Tennessee!

And I'm not talking about just a few flakes but a major ice/ snow storm hit us this week and we had several inches of snow and ice on the ground for an entire week. No school and we went out twice a day to play in it. It is such a rare treat here in the South (in Europe, we would be in the South of Spain) and probably won't happen again in the next 10 years. So we treasured every bit of it and had way too much fun. 

First came an ice storm thru and the ground was covered in a couple of inches of ice pellets. It was freezing and temperatures in the low teens and it felt like 2F/ -18C. This is not normal so far South and we were fortunate that our fireplace worked well and we did not have any power outages or burst pipes, unlike what happened in Texas. 

Nonetheless, we bundled up with what we had and enjoyed this seasonal weather to the max. 

And then on Wednesday morning, we woke up to multiple inches of snow. Everything was white and it looked so pretty. The cats weren't so sure of the snow though:

No, I did not run in the snow as it was too dangerous due to the ice underneath it and way to cold but I did get a quick pictures in after a good run on the treadmill. Jumping for joy...snow. 

Of course there was lots of sledding...first on our street, front yard, the neighbor's steep drive way and the perfect sledding hill further up in our neighborhood. It was a family affair and children big and small had a blast. Luckily, no one got hurt! 

When we got too cold, we went in for lunch...homemade soup was delicious and warmed us right up. 

After 7 days, we dug the car out and I ventured out of the neighborhood to go grocery shopping yesterday. The shelves were mostly bare as the delivery trucks were delayed but are starting to come in now. 

As the temperatures are finally above freezing, the snow started to melt today and we already miss the fun we had. One more day of no school until all the back roads are cleared and then we will resume with our "normal" quarantine routine. This past week was almost like a winter vacation and just what we needed during our 11 months "staycation" at home due to the pandemic. 

Today is a New Beginning

Over the past two weeks, we have hunkered down and hoped that the news would not be filled with  more reports of violence, hate and despair. We have prayed that the president would leave office quietly and that we can all have a smooth transition, going in to the new presidency with hope and decency. And today, the day came and it was great. 

The children and I watched most of the inauguration, pulling them away from their school work as this moment in history had to be seen so that we can all remember it. May our daughters' eyes grow wide with possibility, their imaginations run wild with visions, their hearts beat quicker with potential, and the blood in their veins thrum with equality. This is their future. The women of this country fought for this for centuries, they broke hard new ground, and our generation is creating a new standard for representation that our daughters will govern. Luckily our daughters will barely remember a day when a leading woman was not in the White House. 

As Jen Hatmaker said so well: "The day belonged to women of color. Dare I say, the day belonged to women." Thus, it is fitting that on Monday we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. and listened to his famous speech I Have A Dream. Certainly, dreams and hard work are paying off for Kamala and all the rest of the women of any race or color that will follow her. Thus, I am proud that my bi-racial daughter can witness this and know that she can achieve anything she dreams of and that she can be an equal to any man in this country. 

The 46th president of the Unites States, Joseph R. Biden Jr., will have a tough road ahead to unify the country, tackle the Covid-19 crisis, rebuild a decimated economy and repair international alliances. But he set the tone of what is to come and what we expect of him in his inauguration speech: "Politics doesn't have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path. We have to be different than this. America has to be better than this. I will be a president for all Americans. I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as those who did." 

Here is to a new beginning!

A Sad Day in America's History

Today, my heart is heavy and it hurts looking at footage of the Capitol from yesterday's riots. There are no words (or maybe too many words) to describe what happened on Wednesday, January 6th, 2021 in the capital of the United States and I have no support or respect for the people and the people who incited them. Partially, I actually had to look away from the news. As an American, it is a disgrace and total embarrassment to watch and to know that the sitting president stirred those rioters on to break in to the building. It was the first time in recent history that the Capitol was breached and it took several hours to secure. The ceremonial counting of the electoral votes had to be paused and members of the  Congress brought to safety after the mob stormed the building. 

This is the first time in the USA’s history that the Confederate flag has appeared inside the halls of the Capitol. The image is significant because of what the flag stands for –– white supremacy and the social and political exclusion of colored people. This is outrageous and should not be accepted. 

Later in the afternoon, Trump called on supporters, who protested in his name and whom he had encouraged to march to the Capitol, to “remain peaceful” and “respect the Law”  but he also refrains from telling them to go home.

What is most shocking to me is the police respond to this riot when compared to peaceful protests by Black Lives Matter protesters in June at the Capitol. It took hours to get the National Guard mobilized yesterday but in June, protesters were met by National Guard members, armed and camouflaged. 

"When Black people protest for our lives, we are all too often met by National Guard troops or police equipped with assault rifles, shields, tear gas and battle helmets," the group (BLM) said in a statement. "Make no mistake, if the protesters were Black, we would have been tear gassed, battered, and perhaps shot." 

Once the Capitol was secured again, lawmakers returned from lockdown to the House and Senate chambers, to continue counting the votes nearly six hours after the crowd wreaked havoc on America's symbol of democracy. The House and Senate declared that Biden won the Electoral College by 306 votes to 232 for Trump. Minutes after that a statement from the White House was released that Trump "commits to an orderly transition of power".

On a positive note, on Tuesday Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate with victories in Georgia’s two runoff elections.

It is hard to comprehend why it has to come to this and when this craziness will finally be over. But thru all of this I keep praying for hope and community in our country. We must stay strong together. And teach our children that we don't hate each other just because we differ in size, race, sexuality, religion or opinions but show respect and accept defeat graciously. 

Sources: 

1. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/us/police-response-black-lives-matter-protest-us-capitol/index.html
2. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/politics/trump-biden-us-capitol-electoral-college-insurrection/index.html
3. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/georgia-election-results
4. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-significance-of-the-confederate-flag-waved-inside-the-us-capitol-7137213/
5. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-commits-orderly-transition-statement-after-mob-stormed-capitol-n1253223

My 2020 Book Review

Overall last year, I read 25 books and listened to 35 audiobooks. Below you can see a complete list. I will only highlight the ones I highly recommend but most of the books were pretty good. 

Books:

1. Night Road Kristin Hannah ★★★★
2. Firefly Lane Kristin Hannah ★★★★
3. Crenshaw (Read aloud)   Katherine Applegate ★★★★
4. The Paris Orphan Natasha Lester ★★★★
5. The Story Keeper Lisa Wingate ★★★★
6. The Boy on the Wooden Box Leon Lyson ★★★★
7. Flight of Dreams Ariel Lawhon ★★★★
8. The Christmas Promise Donna Vanliere ★★★★
9. Noel Street Richard P. Evans ★★★☆
10. When in Doubt, Add Butter Beth Harbison ★★★☆
11. Someone We Know Shari Lapena    ★★★☆
12. The Simple Art of Flying (Read aloud) C. Leornardo ★★★☆
13. Wir sehen uns unter den Linden Charlotte Roth ★★★☆
14. Girl in the Blue Coat Monica Hesse ★★★☆
15. The Lost Girls of Paris Pam Jenoff ★★★☆
16. Tell me 3 Things Julie Buxbaum ★★★☆
17. The German House Annette Hess ★★★☆
18. The Librarian of Auschwitz Antonio Iturbe ★★★☆
19. Room Emma Donoghue ★★★☆
20. Alaskan Holiday Debbie Macomber ★★★☆
21. Call Me Mrs. Miracle Debbie Macomber ★★★☆
22. Mr. Miracle Debbie Macomber ★★★☆
23. Emma in the Night Wendy Walker ★★☆☆
24. Candy Corn Murder Leslie Meier ★★☆☆
25. 1225 Christmas Tree Lane Debbie Macomber ★★☆☆

Audiobooks:

1. The Huntress Kate Quinn ★★★★
2. The Tattooist of Auschwitz Heather Morris ★★★★
3. The Hating Game Sally Thorne ★★★★
4. 99% Mine Sally Thorne ★★★★
5. Giver of Stars                                          Jojo Moyes ★★★★
6. The Subtle Art of Giving a F*ck Mark Manson ★★★★
7. Echo Pam Munoz Ryan ★★★★
8. Night Elie Wiesel ★★★★
9. Hannah's War Jan Eliasberg ★★★★
10. The Power of Habits                C. Duhigg ★★★★
11. Code Name Helene Ariel Lawhon ★★★★
12. The Mother-Inlaw Sally Hepworth ★★★☆
13. Educated Tara Westover ★★★☆
14. Sharp Objects Gillian Flynn ★★★☆
15. Evvie Starts Over Linda Holmes ★★★☆
16. The Friend Zone Abby Jiminez ★★★☆
17. Where'd you go Bernadette      M. Semple ★★★☆
18. The Most Fun we had Claire Lombardo ★★★☆
19. The Goldfinch          D. Tartt ★★★☆
20. The House of Kennedy James Patterson ★★★☆
21. The Turn of the Key Ruth Ware ★★★☆
22. My Southern Journey Rick Braggs ★★★☆
23. The Dutch House Ann Patchett ★★★☆
24. Atomic Habits James Clear ★★★☆
25. Braving the Wilderness Brene Brown ★★★☆
26. Chasing Harry Winston Laura Weisberger ★★☆☆
27. Atomic Girls Janet Beard ★★☆☆
28. The Year of Less                                   Cait Flanders  ★★☆☆
29. Little Women Louisa May Alcott ★★☆☆
30. Talking with Strangers M. Caldwell ★★☆☆

If you never tried listening to audiobooks, I highly recommend it. I use the Overdrive app and borrow the books for free thru my local library. People also like the Libby app. I now listen to the audiobooks on 1.25 speed, which took a moment to get used to but now sounds normal. My two most favorite books of 2020 were the audiobooks Echo and The subtle Art of Giving a F*. The first one was just superior because of the music. It would not have been the same if I have read it. Go listen to that one. The other one I listened to twice in a row as it provides very good advice and has a few informative anecdotes. 

Of course, all the other books with a 4-Star rating, mainly historical fictions surrounding WWII, and some romance novels (Sally Thorne's books) were superb as well. Usually the hubby reads with the kids at night, but in the beginning of the year, I read aloud a couple of books to them during the afternoon. One of our favorite books is Crenshaw. 

I also discovered a couple of new author's I liked: Natasha Lester, Sally Thorne and I continued my love for reading Ariel Lawhon, Debbie Macomber (Christmas books only) and Lisa Wingate's books. 

If you want to see last year's list, please click here. Now, here is my advice: