June 07, 2004

memory

Damian surprises me sometimes. Case in point: after waving goodbye to Dan through the window tonight, Damian and I started discussing Dan’s acting class. Damian said he’d like to go watch sometime. I said I would too, but we’re not allowed. Damian started talking about how he can go visit Daddy at work but not at class. Like the time he went to Daddy’s work because he had to, because the planes crashed into those two buildings in New York and so his school was closed and he had to go with Daddy to work until I could come get him.

Think about it. Damian was THREE YEARS OLD on that horrible September morning. Also not overwhelmingly verbal at the time. And that was nearly three years ago. HE REMEMBERS. I’m sure he wasn’t remembering being told about it. It was clear from the way he spoke. He truly remembers. We even got into a bit of an argument because he thought the school that was closed was his current morning school, ie: the regular preschool he started this past September. I said, no, you were still in the morning class at your other school (he’s now in an afternoon class at the therapeutic preschool). He vehemently disagreed. Which means he remembers it vividly enough that it seems like recent history.

Nearly half his lifetime ago. And he remembers clearly.

Posted by Tamar at June 7, 2004 10:16 PM
Comments

I believe our children will all remember - to some degree, depending on their age at the time, and like us, yet more so, they will forever be scarred by this horror that touched their young lives.

Posted by: Nancy at June 8, 2004 06:46 AM

My friend's daughter was 5 yrs. old when that happened. The media here (in Canada) showed the image of the airplane crashing through the tower so many times, and it was on the cover of so many publications, that she was scared to leave the house because of "all of those airplanes that are crashing into buildings"; she didn't understand that it was the same incident being shown over and over. That's scary.

Posted by: Jessica at October 15, 2004 01:41 PM