9/11

Today is my birthday. I know what you’re thinking. I get the same reaction from almost every single person. “That’s a crappy day to have a birthday.” I had a student laugh at me the other day. He asked when my birthday was. I said Thursday. He asked what the date was. I said the 11th. He laughed at me. I asked him what he was laughing at, and he said, “That’s a terrible day to have a birthday.” Yeah, tell me about it!

It was my 21st birthday in 2001. I was in the shower getting ready for work. It was also my last day at work. I had worked at this daycare for five years to the day. I had started working there on my 16th birthday, and my 21st birthday was going to be my last day because I was moving to Oregon to go to school. I was in the shower, and my mom knocked on the door. Thinking she wanted to wish me a happy birthday, I told her to come in. Instead, she opened the door and said, “Shi, you need to turn on the TV as soon as you get out. Something bad has happened.”

I finished my shower and turned on the TV. I didn’t quite comprehend what was happening, even after seeing it on TV. I was confused, as was the entire world. I got ready and went upstairs to eat breakfast. My mom and I ate in silence as we watched the horrific scenes on TV. It wasn’t until I was in my car pulling out of the driveway when my mom remembered to wish me a happy birthday. She felt bad about forgetting.

I went to work, and needless to say, it was a pretty bad day. My mom called me at some point during the day to tell me that I might not be able to move to Oregon because the price of gas had shot up to $5/gallon. She said they couldn’t afford to drive me there. I was in tears a good part of the day as I watched the news from work. Not only was my birthday ruined, not only had thousands of people just died, but now I wasn’t going to be able to move to Oregon as planned.

After work, I drove to the nearest gas station to fill up my tank. Everyone in the city of Kearney had the same idea. I waited in line for over an hour to get gas. By the time I got home, it was time for dinner. Rather than being able to choose where I wanted to eat, my dad said we should just go to DQ because it would be fast and cheap. I ate dinner with my parents at DQ and went home to bed. That’s the story of my 21st birthday.

Since that time, it hasn’t been AS bad as that day. However, when I tell people when my birthday is, I get that sympathy look and a small, “Oh, I’m sorry.” I’m just glad that I get a little bit of happiness on this day when the rest of America is mourning that tragic day.

I share this birthday with many people, including my cousin Matt. I also share it with a high school friend, Matt; a friend from church, Scott; a friend from Kearney, Brad. That's all I can think of right now, but Happy Birthday to all of you, too.