9/11 firefighter's widow wrote heartwrenching letter updating him on their kids: 'They remind me every day of you'

They say life doesn't stop after someone you love dies; in fact, the grief remains the same, but it's you who learns to walk with it. The morning of September 11, 2001, changed everything for Sonya and her kids, Hasani and Hannah, when her husband, Uhuru Houston, a Port Authority Police Department officer, was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack. A decade after his death, the fallen PAPD officer's wife wrote him a letter, updating him on their children’s lives, and it speaks volumes about the relationship they shared.

"Yet another gorgeous early fall day, with the temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s, warm, with only a few fluffy cumulus clouds in the sky. The perfect day to be outside," Sonya started, before recalling how the horrifying day took away her entire universe. She said a lot has happened post the terror attack, but instead of looking back at those, she would like to focus on the present. "The book that is still being written, the lives that are still being lived, and the pain that still exists — this is just a reality check of a life that was changed in the blink of an eye," Sonya added. Houston and Sonya met as students at Norfolk State University, only to marry each other three years later. Everything was just straight out of fairyland, and the couple was living a beautiful life with their kids until death came knocking on the door. 

"People ask us, 'How are you doing?' with that sad, head-tilted-to-the-side, and somber look of pain and anguish. 'We are good,' I respond, with the same tilt and somber smile that holds a lot of pain," Sonya wrote. Moving on, she informed her late husband that their kids were doing pretty well academically, reminding him that time doesn't wait for anyone. Sonya then praised her late husband and talked about how he could light up the room just by his presence. "Not enough words in the English dictionary to describe you and do you justice," she added. Sonya said her life with three kids was anything but easy, and that managing their schedules was just insane. She shared that they have all become independent and that accepting help at times is difficult. "Mom is your biggest cheerleader. She always wears her PAPD T-shirts and, with the same tilted head and somber look, explains to EVERYONE how she lost her son on 9/11," Sonya wrote.

She said that her mother-in-law misses him and brags about him to her friends. "I try not to let everyone know. She does the opposite. I believe this is her way of dealing with her grief as well. She is so strong," Sonya added. Just like Houston's mother, who apparently became stronger after losing her son, the YouGov Death Study found a 27% participants confessed that somebody’s passing made them feel stronger. Besides, 34% said their priority in life changed after experiencing someone's death. The martyr's wife revealed that her kids remind her of her husband every day and talked about how they have grown up to become kind and compassionate. "I can’t wait to see who they become as they grow up. I know you are looking down on them and smiling. You would be so proud," Sonya wrote in the end.

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