Although I don’t know where you were on the morning of 9/11/01, I can write an entire book on where I was and how my life changed that day.

For purposes of this exploration of sacrifices I have made for our country, here is a HUGE deliberate one in response to that terror threat.

The company for which I worked and regularly traveled from Coast to Coast gave us the option—without penalty—of choosing not to fly when flights became operational again.

Never a fan of flying under any circumstances, prior to the company’s announcement, I had seriously considered resigning from my job to avoid flying again.

I listened to our President and his call for us to resume our normal lives. I considered the way that our economy and our way of life could collapse if we stopped doing that.

So, terrified as I was, I packed my suitcase and went on a cross country business trip. I made a moral, patriotic decision that no one but my God and I knew about. No one but my God and I knew that I had decided that if it was necessary, I was willing to die for my country in another airplane attack.

Obviously, I did not die. Yet I submit that every one of us who try our best to face and not to shrink from our daily responsibilities in the light of prior and potential terror attacks are making sacrifices for our country. And I am grateful to my fellow Americans for doing just that!

God bless you.

Barbara Krawiec