Exhibit: Remembrance and Reflection

I know it's back to business as usual, back to Monday, back to Fashion Week, back to the jobs plan...but I think for families most closely associated with 9/11, it might not quite be so easy.

Yesterday, in addition to celebrating the little things in life with family and friends, and taking a bit of time for our faith and to be grateful for the good things in our own lives as they are now, we also wanted to commemorate the day by visiting the Remembrance and Reflection exhibit at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian.  It was not to be, despite the fact that we were there early, the wait was already over 45 minutes long - a bit tough for a little one in tow.  The exhibit closed yesterday but I wanted to share a few photos, some of which I used when putting together the 9/11 slideshow for kirtsy, since they bring a much more human element to that day.  A burned but surviving flag, Mayor Giuliani's cell phone, a wrangled door from a fire truck, a china place setting from Windows on the World, a charm bracelet from someone's desk... The exhibit was perhaps most notable for having these items on "display" but not as an exhibit in the traditional sense. Instead of housing the items in display cases, they were laid out in the open for people to view.  There is something very human about seeing an item just "there", as if stating that this isn't just a museum piece, but a real testament that belonged to someone and that meant something in their lifetime.

Everything moves forward and soon fashion or work or whatever moves right back in as we get back to our daily lives, but these images are worth taking a moment to absorb.  If you missed the exhibit, you can view the full collection of images and the stories behind them here.

All images from the Remembrance and Reflection Exhibit, American Museum of History at the Smithsonian.