Today is 9/11. I found it hard to concentrate at work, as I was constantly distracted by posts and articles about 9/11 that I felt driven to read, including some first-person accounts that I hadn't read before. It was a little warmer today than 9/11/01, and the sky wasn't that brilliant blue, but it was still a gorgeous early September DC day, and it's hard for one's mind to go anywhere other than back to 13 years ago.

It was a pleasure to come home to three smiling, happy kids, one of whom told me right when I walked in that she had had a really great day, which she hasn't said in a while (A). And those kids are sweet and lovely to each other. So while I am tired and sad today, I am grateful for my gorgeous A, M and N.

We had a conversation tonight about 9/11, and watched the Nats play the Mets at Citi Field, where there was a special ceremony before the game in memory of the people who died. I told them about the plane in PA, and the plane at the Pentagon, and the planes hitting the towers. It is really, really hard for them to grasp what happened. (It's sometimes hard for me to grasp what happened.) They aren't thrilled that their dad is in Afghanistan either. (Nor am I.) I didn't show them any footage or photos – no need for that yet. Someday they will see it. For now, it is too disturbing for them and will upset their sleep and focus.

So I will end on an up note: Nats won, which means (I think) that the magic number is now 9. What a team.