Thoughts on 9/11 for the next generation

There are a lot of images today; pictures and video of the tragedy and the heros from that day, 10 years ago. I have been reflecting on how we will explain this to Colin when he is old enough to understand a little more and one thing became clear. Of course it is important to remember the actual event and every 9/11 we will say a prayer for the lives lost that day. The thing that I really hope to show him though was the unity in the hours and days after. I was away from my family at Gonzaga, but was able to have a candlelight vigil with my Zag family. There was an obvious connection that you could feel with everyone around you. Remember how people just tried to look each other in the eye and smile a little more?
There is no way our generation's children will ever fully understand the feeling that day (to be honest, there is no way I can fully understand how it felt to be directly impacted by the events) but I guess my hope is that when Colin sees my tearing up when we are watching the memorials on TV - we can have a conversation about not waiting for a tragedy to want to look strangers in the eye and give them a smile; that we don't have to wait for a tragic event to say thank you to the firefighters, police and serrvice men and women.