September the 11 Unforgettable Memories.(an excerpt)

The tragedy broke us, but we picked up the pieces and built ourselves back up even STRONGER.

On September 10, 2001, New Yorkers, much like the rest of the country, woke up in their own beds, ready to start the work or school week. It would be a normal, mundane week, except that kids were still adjusting to the new school year, some adults were beginning new jobs that would hopefully propel their career in the right direction, and first responders prepared for a day of helping those in need. No one knew that this would be the last normal day before tragedy would strike.

It was Tuesday, September 11, 2001, and I was laying in bed deciding whether I should get up and go to my college class. I knew I probably wouldn't but debating it helped my guilt. It was around 9:15 A.M. when my mother screamed from the other room, “Liza! Get in here! Something is happening!” Of course, I thought maybe there was a kitchen fire? Or maybe the cable had gone out, like it often did. When I walked into the living room, the TV was on set to the news. Smoke was billowing from The World Trade Center building.

“What happened?” I asked.

“I don’t know. They’re saying a plane accidentally hit a building. What’s going on?” My confused mother, nervous and shaking, needed an answer. I had nothing to give her. I asked if she had heard from my father, who was a teacher in Brooklyn. She said she tried calling but the phone lines were down.

(Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com)

* Vocabulary:

- the tragedy broke somebody (v): their heart sank when the tragedy took place.

- pick up the pieces (idiom): get restored, get recovered after a tragedy.

e..g: it may take her father a couple of years to pick up the pieces of her mom's death.

- mundane (adj) /mʌnˈdeɪn/: dull, very ordinary.

e.g.: the mundane activities like getting up early to go jogging, having breakfast with her hubby and washing up do not much interest her.

- billow from somewhere (v) /ˈbɪləʊ/: (smoke or something) spread over a large area.

e.g.: Smoke was billowing from Cho Lon Market while Lan was in the bathtub.