How Do You Explain Patriot Day to a 5-Year-Old?

Yesterday afternoon as I was driving home from yet another daily trip to the Tueller School of Dance, Jessi was full of questons about Patriot Day. She wanted to know why so many flags were flying. And "Why did Daddy wear his flag shirt to work?", and "What means Patriot Day?", and on, and on. So I took a deep breath and started to explain (in the most simplified way I could) the meaning of Patriot Day to my 5 year old girl.

As I was gently trying to explain what happened, I realized a few things:

1. There is no kid-friendly way to explain the events of September 11, 2001. The explanation of "Some bad men flew an airplane into a building..." doesn't quite cut it. And when Jessi asked me if there were any children on the plane, well. . .refer to my next realization.
2. Even though the attacks happened 7 years ago, the pain and emotions still are fresh--as I was telling the story, my voice started cracking, my throat started tightening, and along came the tears. I had to take several deep breaths in an attempt to keep my composure.
3. This is a new generation's "Pearl Harbor", and just as I will never fully understand the emotions my grandparents feel about Pearl Harbor, my children and grandchildren will never understand the emotions that surface when I think of what happened on September 11. Which brings me to my next thought:
4. 9/11 is STILL NOT and NEVER WILL BE an acceptable storyline for a 5th grade class opera unless it is treated as a tragedy and is written without rhyme.
5. I want to always remember that day with respect for our country and not take for granted the things I enjoy as a citizen of the USA.

Never Forget