Teaching Service on 9/11

9/11 will always be a very moving and emotional day for me. It is a day of reflection for me and also service. This morning I decided that my children were going to be late for school. I wanted them to understand that this was a day to honor those who serve and protect us, and to appreciate the freedoms that we have each day. I have an abundance of tomatoes coming off of my garden; so we gathered up a large bag of freshly picked, ripe Roma variety tomatoes. My son, daughter and I headed over to the Terra Bella Firestation, and dropped them off. They were heading off to do a program at the local Elementary school, but we were able to chat for a few minutes and thanked them. The children might not remember what happened in 2001, but that doesn't mean that we can't share our feelings about what happened that fateful day. Service is a way to give back, so even though a bag full of tomatoes isn't much in the way of service, I wanted to teach a lesson to my children and show our local fireman that they are appreciated and cared for. Find a way to share that you care about your local servicemen/woman, firefighters,police officers and other civil servants, and make this a teaching opportunity about service.