Sept. 11 = Day of Thanksgiving

Six years ago today, my husband almost died in the World Trade Center. He was in New York for a business trip, working for Morgan Stanley, and attending training in their headquarters on the 61st floor of the South Tower. That was the 2nd building to be hit, but the first to collapse.

I will never forget that harrowing day - I was on an airplane ready to fly to San Diego to speak at a conference, and when the pilot came on to tell the passengers that we were not going anywhere due to a terrorist attack, all of the hairs on the nape of my neck stood up. At the time, my husband was my boyfriend...we had put off getting engaged and married because the NASDAQ was in the toilet, and we wanted to wait until it came back around before having a wedding.

Well, when I learned 3 hours later that he had lived, I told him on the phone, "Get your a$$ back to California because we are getting married as soon as possible." He formally proposed on October 6, 2001, I bought the first wedding dress I tried on, and asked when it would be ready. The answer was April 30, 2002, so we set the wedding date for May 10, 2002. And that is our happy story.

There's more: Sept. 11 also inspired me to live my life in the now, to stop waiting for "circumstances to be right." I decided a year after we got married to stop postponing owning a business, and to follow my dream of owning a day spa (something I have wanted to do for years). I got out of high-tech, put all of my money into buying Pavia Day Spa, and here I am almost 4 years later, happy and fulfilled and joyful every time I walk into work.

I know that for others this was a day of heartbreak, loss, despair, and disaster. I still get tears in my eyes when I think about the families who lost loved ones in the WTC, in the Pentagon, and on United Flight 93. I will never, ever forget Sept. 11, but on this day, I will always give thanks for the life of my husband, for the lessons that it brought to me, and for the wonderful marriage I now enjoy.

The above was a shot taken on our honeymoon in Bali...in July 2002, 3 months before the tragic bombings there. Sheesh, terrorism follows my hubby everywhere!