the dates that define us.

March 30, 1981. President Ronald Reagan was shot. It's the first national event that I recall. I remember feeling fear as adults spoke in hushed tones.

January 28, 1986. The Challenger exploded after lift-off. We gathered in Mr. Ikeda's classroom to watch the news coverage. America paused, and I was old enough to pause, also.

April 19, 1995. I walked into a lawyer's office in Atoka, OK, going through the motions of a divorce. We heard on the radio that the Federal Building had been attacked. When news that the daycare was hit came across the airwaves, I walked to my car in tears. I drove past state troopers lining the highway and tried to wrap my head around the word "terrorism."

September 11, 2001. I was at work, and a co-worker on maternity leave called to tell us the news. We made calls, checking whereabouts of co-workers & colleagues. My brother called to make sure that I wasn't traveling that day. I remember a co-worker interrupting a meeting of the company founder & HR director with the simple, somber words – "We are under attack." I spent the afternoon & evening glued to the television – both frightened & comforted by the military jets taking off from the National Guard base next to our townhouse.

I am grateful, and so fortunate, that these dates are moments in history for me. They aren't attached to the personal loss of friends & family. They are, nonetheless, defining dates in my story.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. — Buddha