This will be a difficult month for all of us. Not only were we not emotionally prepared for September 11 last year, but few are much better prepared for the first anniversary of that day's horrific events.

In many ways, our lives have changed. But in more ways nothing has changed or changed little at best.

On the surface, we have some new habits like leaving for the airport much earlier than before. We are certainly more security conscious now — not just at the airport but in other settings too. And we much better understand that our riches and power do not isolate us from the dangers of the world.

But in so many more ways we have returned to life as usual. This is both good and bad.

On the one hand, the attacks have not changed our resolve to be what we are — Americans. This country brings each of us the greatest rights and privileges anywhere on earth. It also brings us opportunities that few could find elsewhere and in such abundance. No group of cowardly terrorists is going to take that away from us. None of us will allow that to happen.

On the other hand, many of us have slipped back into the same old habits based on the same assumptions we held before September 11. More often than not, this is especially true in our personal relationships. That truly is the downside of the past year. But it doesn't have to be that way.

This is a time to reflect on the second chance we have been given. Do we have a new appreciation for each other? Do we show our appreciation in new ways? Or are we back to life as it was — all too often taking what we have for granted.

Each of us makes the choice of what is the right balance in our lives. Sometimes the urgent edges out the most important. Given the way we live today, that's seemingly inevitable. But now is a different time. For me, it's both urgent and important to remember what the families of Jeffrey P. Mladenik and Andrew Curry Green lost when both died on American Airlines Flight #11. Along with the other victims, I will keep those two late colleagues in mind as I try to make the most of my second chance.