Monday, September 11th.

It's been five years since that infamous day and it's strange to look around and realize how much the world has changed. For our generation it is one of the defining moments. People will always remember where they were when they first heard the news.

I was actually at the mall (being in a later time zone), and the stores had just opened. It was my day off and I was just passing a clothing store when a man came out talking to someone on his cell phone about a plane crash. My first thought was that my stepfather would be watching all the news reports about it. He worked in the airline industry his entire life and still has an avid interest in anything that happens there.

I didn't think much of it, but mentioned it when my hubby joined me. We continued down the mall and saw a large group of people gathered around a television screen just at the entrance of an electronics store. We went over to see what they were all watching. That was where I watched the second plane slam into the twin towers live as it happened.

Shock it too mild a word to express what I felt. Then we heard about the attack on the Pentagon as well. We went home immediately and I, like most of the world, spent the next few days glued to the television screen when I wasn't at work.

It changed the world. It changed all the people whose lives were touched by the tragedy. It changed me.

I think it set me on a new road in life even though it took me a few years to get there. All those people who lost their lives woke up that morning all believing that they would be going home that evening. It made me think.

It took me two years to get the courage to even admit that I wanted to quit my job, but when I did, I started planning immediately. Took me almost another year to get there, but I did leave my job and took a step toward the career and life I wanted. I'm still not all the way there, but at least I'm working toward it.

I think about all those people who never had the chance to change their minds or to maybe do some things they'd always wanted. They never had a chance, but the rest of us do. Don't waste a moment of your life with regrets of what might have been. Try. What's the worst you can do? Fail! At least you'd have tried.

Anyway, on this Monday as we all pause and remember that tragic day and the people whose lives were taken, hug your spouse or your child or your friend or yourself. There is still much good to be found in the world. Embrace it.

NJ