WHAT?

I was all ready to write another post and answer questions for Meet Me on Monday, but I saw something yesterday that I had to comment on.  I saw a sign that read:  Patriot Day Celebration.  It was for a church in the next town over.  Did I miss something?  When did we start "celebrating" 9/11?  Is it just me, or should that day be a day for reflecting and mourning, not celebrating? 

I went to the church's website to see if anything was mentioned and this is what it said:

"September 11:  PATRIOT'S DAY BLOCK PARTY  7:00 p.m. until Dark. Inflatables and Free Food!  Multimedia Musical Presentation with the _____ ______ Choir"

Somebody please tell me if I'm over-reacting, but I'm just not getting it.  It seems that before Sept. 11 was declared "Patriot Day", this is exactly what people were afraid would happen.  Sept. 11 shouldn't be a day to celebrate, but a day to remember that awful day that changed "normal" for us.  Not just for Americans, but for people all over  the world.

Kids who weren't born on that day or were too young to remember it need to be educated on what happened.  Not in a horrific, scary way (even though it was), but in a realistic, be ready kind of way.  Their world is different than ours was when we were growing up, for sure.  They do not need to think it's a day of celebrating.


When I was cleaning out my dresser a couple of weeks ago, I came across some potassium iodide tablets that were given out after 9/11.  (When we lived in SC, we lived close to a nuclear plant.)  When I found those, it really took me back;  I had completely forgotten about them.  I had forgotten that in the days following 9/11, I kept a contact case and my glasses in my pocketbook...just in case.  We made sure the boys knew what to do and where we would meet up if there was an emergency.  We had a box for emergencies...just in case.  And now?  We don't have a plan, the school doesn't have a plan, and I honestly have no idea how we would all meet up should there be an emergency.  Yes, we've become complacent in these 9 years since the attack.  Time does heal, and time does help us to forget.  Even when we shouldn't.

So, maybe this church is celebrating that we as a country chose to tighten our security and move on; maybe they're celebrating those people's lives.  Maybe they're choosing to celebrate instead of mourn and reflect.  Maybe they did some of that at the "celebration".  I'm just having a big problem with calling it a "celebration".  Am I overreacting?