JACKSON, Mo. -- It's 4:30 a.m., Sept. 11, 2001, and all is well with the world.

Lisa Smith gets dressed for a day that she has been looking forward to for years. On this day, in just a few hours, Smith will have the second child she always wanted but didn't think she'd ever have. She gave up on the idea years ago after fertility drugs failed.

In three hours, Brad Smith, Lisa's husband and the band director at Oran High School, will hear the best kind of music: his only daughter's first cries.

In 188 minutes, Trevor Smith will get a little sister. He'll go to school and brag that he's a big brother. He'll fall asleep in school after getting up so early to be at the hospital.

At 7:38 a.m., Morgan Lisann will breathe her first breath, and all will still be well with the world.

Seventeen minutes later, an airplane will hit one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

Then the other tower.

Then the Pentagon.

The first collapse.

The Pennsylvania crash.

The second collapse.

There is smoke everywhere. Fire. Chaos. Death. Terrorists.

During the first three hours of little Morgan's life, the world's strongest nation suddenly found itself short of breath, consumed with uncertainty and fear.

There are moments and days in everyone's life that will always be remembered. The attack on Sept. 11 is one of them, and so is the birth of a child. It just so happened two life-changing events happened on the same day -- within minutes of each other -- for the Smiths. Seven other families who had babies at Southeast Missouri Hospital that day likely experienced many of the same emotions.

A bright light

A year later, the Smiths don't see the terrorist attack as a cloud over Morgan's birthday. The Jackson residents instead see Morgan's birth as their bright light on one of the gloomiest days in their nation's history.

The same can be said for about 12 of their closest friends and family who visited the hospital that day.

Because they were so absorbed in the addition to their family, Brad and Lisa said they didn't fully comprehend the scope of the tragedy that occurred that day.

Lisa's doctor, Scot Pringle, gave her a choice of three days to have a cesarean section, and Lisa picked Sept. 11 since it was the last of the three days and gave Morgan as much time in the womb as possible. Because of complications in Trevor's delivery nine years before, the doctors would not let Lisa, now 40, give birth naturally.

Shortly after Morgan was born, Brad went to the waiting room as his wife went to recovery.

He saw history unfold on the television monitor.

"It just didn't click with me," Brad said. "I was upset, but it didn't hit me as hard as it did everybody else. It's going to be very emotional in remembrance this year."

Meanwhile, Lisa was still feeling the groggy effects of her epidural anesthesia. No one wanted to tell her what had happened at first, but a friend called her on the phone to ask how she was doing. Once her friend found out Lisa was OK, she told her what was happening on the East Coast.

A self-proclaimed news junkie, Lisa immediately turned on the television.

"News like that is unbelievable," Lisa said. "You have to see it for yourself."

She saw the same images everyone else saw, but they didn't drag her down like they did others. She was a new mother.

"It didn't really hit me for two or three weeks," she said.

Brad was much the same way, but he noticed the effect the news had on the hospital workers.

"The nurses and doctors were in distress," Brad said. "Some were crying. I couldn't really focus on it because I was so excited about Morgan."

The Smiths have heard other bad news on birthdays. Trevor, 10, was born on the same day riots erupted after a court's verdict in Los Angeles found police not guilty of beating Rodney King, despite video footage that suggested King was abused by the officers.

The Smiths nervously anticipate the birth of their third child. A cesarean section is scheduled for Dec. 6.

Early party

Lisa has discovered that one of the drawbacks to having a birthday on Sept. 11 is planning birthday parties. This year, they celebrated on Monday with a few friends and relatives, cake and ice cream.

On one hand, Brad and Lisa both feel bad that Morgan will have to share her birthday with a national tragedy.

"It's just a real bummer," Lisa said. "I can't watch the TV without bawling. I know it's the first anniversary and there are lots of stories to tell and every one is a tear-jerker."

But as they watch their healthy, brown-haired, brown-eyed daughter take wobbly steps in their living room, Lisa and Brad are reminded that great things can come on tragic days.

"She is perfect," Lisa said. "Just perfect. She was a surprise we weren't expecting. She's such a blessing.

"It just shows you life goes on."

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127