REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

The precious gift of time

The moment to spend with a husband who loves me, or a sick friend, or a delicious new grandchild is here and now. Not some time later. And yes, now is the time to do that work in the community I've always said I wanted to do.

The nation learned this lesson all at once that horrible day in September 2001. The pictures stay with us — the fires and falling debris and, most hauntingly, the faces. Look how young so many of them were, people who thought there would be much more time, a lot of "later" when they could do all the things they really wanted to do. I grieve for their families — especially for those, like me, who haven't found any trace of the people they loved. But I grieve even more for the people who died that day. They couldn't know what we know now about the precious gift of time. 

Cokie Roberts, political commentator for ABC News, senior news analyst for NPR News

Here you'll find teaching and learning resources about 9/11.