As a family we have always spent time on September 11th walking through The Healing Fields by Sandy City Hall. We listen to the stories, read the names of those that died, talk about what happened that day and have even volunteered our time in taking the flags down. If you don't know what The Healing Fields is it is a display that was put up for 10 years in Sandy, Utah to honor those that lost their lives that day. There has always been one flag for each person that died as visual reminder of who was taken from us that day. With the USA flags standing in proxy for each person that died it has also been a reminder of the spirit of the American people. That is what I like to remember most. As a nation we were senselessly attacked that day but we were not defeated. There are stories after stories of how people came together to help one another, even at the expense of their own lives. We did not cower and live in fear. We came together to show our patriotism. We did not let those terrorists win. I remember for months afterward seeing flags flying in almost every yard as a show of solidarity and support for our nation and those whose lives were forever changed.
We were heartbroken to find out that The Healing Fields was not going to be displayed this year. In our home school studies we have always spent September 11th remembering that day. As September 11th approached this year, my kids and I were trying to come up with a project that we could do that would be a small-scale 9-11 memorial. After throwing around many different ideas we decided to make our own version of The Healing Fields. Using toothpicks as our flag poles, we cut out white pieces of paper and colored the blue rectangles and the red stripes, glued the flags to the toothpicks and stuck them into a Styrofoam board. We made 2,983 flags by hand. What we thought would be a one day project that would take maybe 5 or 6 hours, turned into a 6 day project that took over 20 hours with 6 of us doing most of the work but 3 or 4 others joining in to help here and there. It was truly a labor of love that caused us to shed blood, sweat and tears (literally). Our flags varied in shape and size and color, not unlike those whose lives they were representing. Some were more faded and worn by the time we finished, others were bright and bold. Some flags stood taller and straighter while others were angled and closer to the ground. Some were short, some were tall, some were wide and some narrow. They all had something in common, though-they were all American flags. They all represented a life that was cut short. Each flag represented many lives affected by the events of that day. Each flag was worth the time and effort it took us. We will keep this memorial and take it out each year (maybe even add new aspects to it) and remember...to never forget.
