...than the day he told me he was quitting his well-paying job and going back to college, just a few years after graduating with a degree in Psychology, to be a teacher.

Erie Times-News reporter, Sharla Bardin, interviewed him for a story that ran in today's paper about how 9/11 has changed lives. You can read it here.

Our parents were, well, less than pleased when Pat said he was going back to school. They'd paid for the first degree (or at least, their fair share of it) and thought he should stay at the well-paying job with the big benefits. They weren't angry, but...you know how parents are...sort of like...what do you mean you're quitting your secure job and going back to school already?

I was immensely proud of him for having the courage to listen to his heart and put his life on hold. And, literally, it was on hold since he and his wife, Stephanie (Heaven sent, I swear) knew that Pat's going back to school meant no babies and no house -- until he graduated and got a teaching job.

9/11 had taught Pat a lesson I'd learned a year earlier when we lost our sister-in-law, Mary Grace, to cancer -- life is short, life is precious and there are no second chances.

Millions learned that lesson on 9/11.

I had learned that lesson a year earlier -- when Grace died -- and I was actually on maternity leave -- holding the result of that lesson learned -- my firstborn daughter. We'd put off having kids, waiting for just the right time. Grace's death taught me there's no time to wait to do the things you've always wanted to do. We threw caution to the wind, got pregnant & thought...God will provide (sitters, flexible work schedules, the time and money to raise children). And, he did.

Holding my newborn daughter in my arms on 9/11, watching the news reports, I remember thinking, "What have I done? I've brought a child into this world." I thanked God at that moment that she was a girl because I knew there would be war in her lifetime and she would not enjoy the childhood of peace that I had. And, indeed, there's been war every year of my daughter's life. That makes me tremendously sad (even if she is oblivious to it).

But, back to my little brother, and the lesson we can all learn from 9/11...

Listen to you heart.

Listen. To. Your. Heart.

Your heart knows what you should be doing. Are you doing that? Why not? It could all end tomorrow. Have you been leading the life you want? Or have you been leading the life that others want for you?

All the money in the world will never make you happy. It will never quiet the voice in your head (and heart) telling you to finally get on with what it is you know you should be doing.

Here's my teacher-man brother in action (photo by Greg Wohlford/Erie Times-News):