Faith, Hope and Courage Emerged from September 11: What's Your Story?

I used to be a workaholic. I was a working mother of three children, barely missing a beat after each delivery. I lived to work, and trudged through each day in a job that did not provide any real amount of personal satisfaction other than I knew I was good at my job. But it wasn't a job I was passionate about.

1 month before September 11, 2001

The Globe from the World Trade Center, 1 year later

My relationship with my husband was barely a "hello," as we passed like two ships on our way to and from work. We worked too much and traveled too much. But a subtle shift started happening in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.

In August of 2001, my family took a vacation to New York City. For a few days, we walked and walked up and down Manhattan; from Times Square to Chinatown; from Little Italy to the Staten Island Ferry; from Central Park to the Natural History Museum. Late one afternoon, we discussed going up to the top of the World Trade Center to take in the full view. But that particular day our kids, ages, 3, 6 and 9, were so tired from a full day of activity.

My husband and I had an argument about going up to the twin towers; like my three children, I was too tired and a little whiny. I pleaded with my husband that we should do it on a future visit to the city and he relented. He was in New York nearly every month for his job, often returning home on United flight 93. He went so often I knew we could easily arrange a future visit.  (Story continues on Yahoo! News)