Thinking of London

Yesterday, terrorists attacked London. They set off three bombs in the Underground and one in a doubledecker bus. More than 50 people were killed and upwards of 800 injured.

I awoke to the news on the Today Show and watched the breaking news on MSNBC all day. It was incredibly sad.

Josh and I have been to London twice together, and he's been there a few times before me. I loved that city and while we were there, we used the Underground like locals. The thought of all those poor, innocent people suffering and undergoing such a horrific experience made me very sad.

It makes you realize how fleeting life is and how things can be taken away from you in second. My thoughts are with all the people there.

After I had watched a little news about the attack, I started to think about Sept. 11. That morning, Josh was the one who woke me with the terrible news and told me to turn on the TV. I had worked at a night game the night before, and it had gone extra innings. I didn't get home until almost 3 a.m. and had planned to sleep in.

The phone woke me at 7:45 a.m. and I heard Josh's voice.

"I'm sleeping," I whined.

"Amy, a plane hit the World Trade Center. Turn on the news," he said.

My first response was something about a commuter plane and he said no, it was much worse.

That was a defining moment in our relationship. Afterward, I remember being so affected by the calls and messages people on the top floors of the Trade Center had left for their loved ones. They all ended in "I love you."

At the time, Josh and I were not at that stage. Or rather, we were, but neither one of us was vocalizing it.

Things came to a head over a dinner at my house about 10 days later. I said that we didn't even say, "I love you." And that's when we both said it for the first time. I still remember it clearly: there was a roast chicken I made for dinner and I was crying at the table.

I will always look back on that and think that Sept. 11 somehow brought us closer, although I am sure it would have happened one way or another.

Yesterday, I was the one who told Josh about London, while he was getting ready for work. Granted, the two events were not the same in scope, but for the people it affected in each case, I am sure it seems very much the same. Their loved ones were killed for no reason by terrorists.

As I think about the world we are bringing this baby into, sometimes I think it's a little bit sad. Our baby will grow up in a world where the terror level is raised and lowered, where you have to watch for unattended satchels on the El and where a terrorist can change your life in an instant.