9/11 a day of memories

Today we honor everyone who were touched by this day. Millions around the globe feel the City cry. Please take a moment and hold your kids a little tighter and hold kisses a little longer.

This New Yorker Remember

Speaking to Your Children about 9/11

Teaching Your Child to Make an Emergency Call

We see stories in the news of children who heroically called 911 to save a parent or other person in an urgent situation where help was required. Have you taught your child what to do in an event of an emergency? You should consider teaching your child when they can recite their address, around age four or five. It could save your life, or that of a loved one.

What they need to know: Before you teach your child to call 911 it’s important for them to first know what an emergency is and what is not. An emergency could be a house fire, Mom or Dad getting really hurt or not waking up, or even a “bad guy” that threatens the family’s safety. But things like a lost/stolen ipad, a scraped knee, or a lost pet do not constitute an emergency. Make sure they have a clear understanding of this subject and that calling 911 is a tool to use only in an emergency.

This New Yorker Remembers

This morning I was laying in my bed and my eyes were wide opened. The clock said 3:34 (yes, that’s AM) and I couldn’t close my eyes and rest. I kept thinking that at this time, on this day, in 2001 everyone was resting sound asleep not knowing the events that would unfold that day.

As most of you know, I’m a native New Yorker. I’m born and raised right here in Little Italy and have never lived out of this area other then for a college internship in Disney. My family arrived here from Italy in 1916, came to this neck of the woods, and never left. If you’ve watched the movie Gangs of New York, you’ll know exactly what my ancestors life was like. I live in what was then the five points area. Now it’s simply called Little Italy and the Italian population is shrinking every year.

The reason I gave you a little “Natalie Diaz history lesson” is because I want you to know that my roots here are deep. Very deep. The life I live here in NYC is not the life you see on New York Housewives on Bravo. I live a very normal life surrounded by family (all in the same building) in my small town that just happens to be the Big Apple.

To say that this day is somber for me is an understatement. Poor Jill this morning got an earful as I vented about this day. Sorry Jill. I just had to get it off my chest.