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By LINDA HALFREY
Staff writer
Kelsey Levesque's 8th birthday started out like any other.
It was Sept. 11, 2001, but the blond-haired girl left for school unaware of the tragedies unfolding in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
After classes ended, she rushed home to share some cake with a friend at her home in Danvers. The festivities were complete when her mother, Deb, presented her with a special doll Kelsey had been wanting for months.
"I said it was the best birthday I'd ever had," said Kelsey, who turns 9 today.
It wasn't until later that night that she learned about the terrorist attacks that will remain inextricably linked to Sept. 11.
"My mom said, 'Some people are sad today, and you are so lucky that you are happy,'" she recalled.
When the children at her elementary school discovered that her birth date is 9-11, they reacted strongly.
"My friends said, 'Whoa, that's bad,'" Kelsey said.
Some of Deb's acquaintances even asked if she considered changing the day the family celebrates Kelsey's birthday.
"I was shocked," Deb said. "What am I going to do? Change my daughter's birthday?"
Despite unexpected reactions to her birth date, Kelsey's parents are urging her to continue celebrating the special occasion in the same way she's done in the past: by having fun.
"It is always going to be a special and happy day for us because she was born on that day," said Deb Levesque.
Even before last year, countless Americans like Kelsey have held Sept. 11 as a meaningful date in their lives, whether it's because of a birthday, wedding anniversary, or the day a loved one died.
And, one year later, many say they don't plan to change the way they celebrate their special occasions because of the date's link to America's worst tragedy.
That doesn't mean, however, that what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, has been forgotten.
It is forever etched in Brianna Nevins' mind.
Nevins, who was five months pregnant on Sept. 11 last year, jumped into her car on her way to work at Salem Hospital and turned on the radio. Upon hearing news of the attacks, she almost forgot it was her 21st birthday -- a milestone in many young people's lives.
"I got scared and remember being really numb," said Nevins, of Peabody. "I remember realizing it was never going to be the same. It was never going to be a happy day."
Her interrupted birthday was celebrated a few days later, put off by the shock and horror of Tuesday, Sept. 11.
"Everyone appreciates (the date) more now, not necessarily because it's my birthday or someone's anniversary," said Nevins, who plans to observe the day early this year along with her young son, Mason.
"I wouldn't want to go out to celebrate at a bar or something, because it doesn't seem appropriate. I just don't think it's fair," Nevins said. "People should remember how good their life is and know how blessed they are and that it could be a lot worse."
For Joan Strauss of Newburyport, Sept. 11 was already a memorable -- and cherished -- date. She and her husband, Michael, were married on Sept. 11, 1993.
"I really had a visceral reaction to it when I heard the news, and I had this sort of dread, like, 'Oh no, this is my anniversary,'" said Strauss, 47. "Once it dawned on me, there was a sense of loss. Now the date is sort of shorthand for so many things that are tragic for so many people."
The Strausses didn't talk about the terrorist attacks the night of their eighth anniversary. When they began telling people, the reaction they got was surprising.
"It definitely makes an impact on them. They pause for a second when I tell them the date, and then it sort of registers," she said. "It's just hard because your own personal significance takes on this larger meaning."
"It was 'our day' and, well, it's not really anymore. It has a much bigger meaning."