Breaking my own rules

Okay, so it's not really a rule, but I very, very, very, very rarely talk politics on the Internet. I just don't. It's because I'm so laid back and demure (y'all can stop laughing now).

But I don't think the news that Osama bin Laden is dead is really political. It's more than that. It's bigger than that. It's emotional. Just knowing that the man who was the mastermind behind the pain and heartbreak of 9/11 is dead…well, yeah, I am laid back, but I was damn happy to hear it.

I missed the President's speech, but got the newsburst email and immediately went to Facebook–not to get the news, but to share the reaction. To read the bits and bursts of other folks saying what I was feeling, a feeling that stemmed from the horrible agony of that horrible day.

And today (I'm writing this on Monday) I told my kids about it and showed them the headlines, and explained to them what happened and who died and what he did and why, yes, Mommy was happy that a man was dead. Because I was. Because I am.

I looked at my oldest daughter, who'll turn ten in October, and I remember September 12–just one day after, and I had to go to the hospital, 8 months pregnant, to pick up a pager (I guess now, folks text?). I went to the maternity ward and saw all those babies, and I just started bawling. Part hormones, part fear, part horror. All emotion. Gut deep, raw emotion. An entire country felt it, and then some. And I think that the country felt a bit of it again when the news of OBL's death was released. Cause for celebration? Absolutely. But also a catalyst for remembering and for explaining to our kids. And that's good. Because I don't ever want to forget.

And to the soldiers who actually went in, to the troops who brought him down–I just want to say, thank you.