The past week has certainly been full of...intense stuff. Being from MA, and due to the fact that what happened at the marathon, and then on Friday in Watertown, was an act of terrorism rather than an accident, I admittedly didn't pay much attention to the explosion in West, TX. (Side note: who names a town just West? I'm convinced they were smoking something.) My heart has been in Boston for this past week, and I spent much of Friday evening glued to the TV watching coverage of the chase and apprehension of the terror team. I'm glad that I got to see the apprehension play out with Max. While we watched the news, when he heard sirens, he would yell, "sirens, sirens! Hurry, hurry! Go go firetruck!" So cute.
I am so proud to be from MA right now. To see the way the city went into lockdown, the way the community as a whole pulled together, the way those in power said "oh hell no, I did NOT leave the South Side for this!" and got the job done... (yes, I just had to put a Mean Girls reference in there). I am proud to be a Masshole. The first responders, the law enforcement teams that put their lives in danger to find the Tsarnaevs - Boston Strong, indeed.
And it's no secret that Boston's sports teams are an integral part of the city, of the entire regional culture. We are a fan base that refers to ourselves as simply "the Nation." I mean, we even held elections for the position of President of Red Sox Nation. Whether or not you pay your dues to be a card-carrying (no joke) member of Red Sox Nation, if you're from New England (and you like sports), you go on the emotional roller coaster of highs and lows with every baseball/football/hockey/basketball season. In "Title Town," there are high expectations of our teams. And so it should come as no surprise that our teams, and their fans, did great things to help the community, and the country, start the healing process. From fundraising efforts for the victims, to Bruins fans taking over on the National Anthem, to the Bruins players giving the shirts off their backs to first responders, to the touching tribute (f-bomb and all) before Saturday's Red Sox game, these teams are doing their part to bring back their fans' spirits. Boston Strong.
In light of everything, what originally seemed like an overwhelming week for me personally is certainly trifling in comparison. I had two final presentations on Monday and Wednesday, and my school Assessment Center (meant to help us see where we are with the competencies we should be learning through our curriculum, and allow us to come up with a developmental plan for the remainder of the program). I didn't think anything went particularly poorly, or particularly well. It was all just fine, and I was happy to be done. I ended up rewarding myself with a very fun Saturday, not the day I had planned, but one of those fun, random days/nights. Super ridiculous, super fun, and it ended with lots of cookies and no paleo guilt.
JP would have been so proud of the way that Boston responded to the bombings. No doubt he would have ordered every Boston Strong, B Strong, and One Boston shirt he could find. I wonder how I would have experienced this 15+ months ago. Would I have gotten so emotional about the whole situation? Would I have cried at every tribute/national anthem? I don't know. Once again, my grief and sense of loss creates a strange filter through which I experience anything involving grief or loss. And there is the fact that it was Boston, which JP would always refer to as "home" for both of us, though neither of us ever lived within the city limits, and we never even lived in MA together.
Anyway. Events like this make us all realize that we cannot, should not, take anything in this life for granted. As I take some deep breaths in preparation for a summer working at a full-time internship on top of classes, and wonder when I will see Max, I have to just remember to appreciate and take advantage of every moment. The internship is a good thing, for me and for Max. I will still have some time with him in the evenings, and, yes, I will probably be waking him up in the mornings before I take off. And I am going to pack so much fun into the weekends, it's going to be ridiculous. I know I'm going to be exhausted, trying to keep up with my internship, classes, Max, Crossfit, and also trying to maintain some semblance of a social life (hello, street festivals and all my favorite cover bands!), but somehow I will find the energy to live life to the fullest. I will find my inner reserve of Boston Strong.
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