We’d just moved to the United States from Canada. And had just decided that the future for our family was going to be in North Carolina. We were going to start a branding agency.

Changes.

I was raised in Canada. In my childhood, I celebrated victories of the past, and my family often talked about the freedoms we had. It was a theme that ran through my school years; but I never fully understood the price.

Then, on a beautiful sunny morning, in front of my computer, I worked on a business plan and some design work. As I sat alone in my home office, the TV glowed in the background. Matt Lauer interrupted; “a plane has hit the World Trade Center tower”. I’d never been to Lower Manhattan, didn’t really know much about those towers, and never in my wildest imagination did I realize how much my life would change that day.

As the day unfolded, I couldn’t work. I was spellbound as I watch the second plane. The towers fall. The pentagon. Flight 93 in Shanksville.

My optimism was converted to uncertainty. So many lives were snuffed out in death. That day, I changed.

• I realized that I took freedom for granted.
• I never fully appreciated first responders.
• I never considered that a people group in the world; hated me for the freedoms I enjoyed.

Today, as I reminisce about September 11, 2001, I realize that the 10 years has changed me. And like the years of business has too; it’s matured me, and allowed me to have a healthy skepticism in the people I meet.

But most of all, I celebrate and value my freedoms. We need to thank God for them. While they last.