09/11/2026
I decided to approach today differently.
September 11 hits hard every year, for people around the world and especially for those of us who lived through it here in New York. It was, and continues to be, a journey beyond compare.
I watched the towers fall from my bedroom window. I had planned to finally share some of the photographs I took that morning from my rooftop 25 years ago today. Coincidentally, I moved them earlier this year and now I can’t find them. That is very unlike me, and somehow I think it may be a sign.
Even as I stood there looking through my lens, taking those photographs felt morbid in a way I still can’t quite explain. I knew what I was watching. I had studied the architecture of those towers in an art history class in college. They were part of the city I knew, and suddenly the unimaginable was happening right in front of me.
I feel the weight of the lives lost in our great metropolis, at the Pentagon, and all of the flights and those who fought. I think of their families, their friends, the first responders, and all of the people whose lives were forever changed that morning.
September 11 also holds another deeply personal meaning for me. Today was the birthday of Amelia Maiello-Hagedorn, my Amy. My former boss, my bestie, and my “partner,” as she would often call us.
Amy gave me this beautiful book, You Be You, signed by its author, Linda Kranz, for my son and me to share. Looking through it today, I couldn’t help but think that perhaps these are the images I was supposed to share instead.
Seek joy.
Choose happiness.
Notice kindness.
Accept others.
You be you.
I will never forget Amy. I will never forget that morning. And I will never forget all that we lost.
But remembering loss should also remind us how precious it is that we are here.
Live and love fearlessly. We are not promised time, so use yours in ways that make you feel fulfilled. Tell people you love them. Share your kindness every day. Give the smile, the hug, the helping hand, the good deed, whatever it is you have to give.
Then watch what happens when all of those small acts meet one another.
The world grows more beautiful.
I love you. ❤️
Never forget. 9.11.01
