one month ago on this very day

the 2013 boston marathon occurred. 

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if we all remember from my last post i was sick and miserable so instead of going to some reenactments in the morning and then heading over to the marathon like i had planned i ended up laying on john's couch and watched it instead on tv. 

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i decided to see what else was on around 2:30 and then at 3 i saw that my friend had instagrammed a photo of her television with a caption about something terrible happening at the marathon. i quickly turned the tv back to it and then sat in horror as i watched them replay what had happened. at this point no one really knew what was going on so i sat glued to the television for probably six hours listening to a small detail here or there as the story unfolded. usually when things like this are on the news i feel sad for the people but have no real attachment to the place so it was weird to watch and instead be very familiar with the bombed area. i just couldn't believe someone would do such a terrible thing and i had an even harder time with the fact that it happened in my city. 

and because it was my city i had friends and family text, call, send fb messages, etc to see if i was there and if i was safe/unhurt. considering i was supposed to be at the marathon that day i was very touched by all those who reached out, some of which i hadn't talked to in months and months, to make sure i was okay. 

the next day i still wasn't feeling well (my body felt fine but everything in my head was still sad and my throat was maaaaybe on fire) but felt better than i had the days previous so my work friend meg and i decided to go downtown to participate in one of the many vigil's being held for the victims. 

i loved the flyer that was passed around for it, 

"darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that"

we tried to make our way to a different vigil but many of the streets were still closed off so we just checked out boylston street (where it happened). 

other than the random japanese news anchor it was pretty deserted. it was eerie since that street is usually packed with cars and people. i found the photo below on the internet, it looks like in the following days that tiny mural in the picture above on the left became rather large. 

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since it was only a day after the bombing it was touching to see that signs with words of encouragement and love were already posted everywhere

(and this is unrelated to the bombings but i really enjoyed other parts of our walk too, like this night time scene near the prudential)

wednesday and thursday seemed semi normal. everyone was going about their lives but you could tell they felt a little worried, not very safe with the recent events, and didn't like not knowing where these bombers were. 

and then there was friday. 

i was so proud of myself that i woke up on time, showered, and was even going to be a little early for my 7:30 am yoga class. i was about to go out the door when i got a text from my roommate saying that they had been chasing the bombers all night and that it would be a good idea to stay home until further notice. 

i thought that was kind of crazy and unrealistic so i was about to go out the door anyway when i decided to check and see if the buses and subway were running.  they were not. i then checked my work email and found the three emails above which confirmed to me that my roommate's suggestion to stay home really would be a good idea. 

sooo my day (and probably everyone else who lives in boston) went like this:

8 - 2:30 tried to work from home while simultaneously listening to the news and taking gross pictures of myself to send to my sister kim. i also tried to do yoga for one minute and made myself lunch 

(this play by play is for you grace!)

2:30 -5:30 i couldn't take the boring repeated news anymore, laid down, then woke up in a panic 3 hours later

5:30 - 5:45 got really rebellious and  sat on my porch outside for a few minutes

5:45 - 9  tried to keep working but finally things were really happening so the news was much more exciting. around this time they finally found the guy! 

he was captured three miles away from my house, as you can see from the really helpful map i made above. 

so then we drove down there and joined in on the celebrations going on in the streets of watertown. 

i have a feeling the military and policeman felt like rockstars. so much cheering and clapping going on!

then we drove to the arsenal mall which is where all the tv crews were set up all day. so many satellites!

(i circled some of them in pink but that was only a fraction of them)

and then it was time to visit the house with the boat where he was found. 

oddly we were were able to get really close to it, and felt really pleased with ourselves (as seen below) 

and then just like that it was over. now a month later it all kind of seems like a dream. i know it isn't that way for those who were personally impacted and will probably feel like a bit of a nightmare for a long time, but for the rest of us life just continues to move forward and the media finds some other tragedy to exploit. but just so i don't forget - it was a week full of uncertainty and sadness and tears yet it was also full of hope in humanity and gratitude for so many wonderful people who helped save those who were hurt. my heart was especially touched by those who had just finished the marathon and then continued to run to the hospital to give blood or the physician who immediately started working on people even though he himself was exhausted. i've felt so proud to be a bostonian at this time and to be associated with such good people and for others to recognize that goodness. i loved what stephen colbert said, "here's what i know. these maniacs may have tried to make life bad for the people of Boston but all they can ever do is show just how good those people are." and that is true for all places of the world, i feel like every time these terrible things happen somehow so much good comes from it. so that was my experience. i saw people rise, unite, show love for one another, and in the end grow stronger as a community than they were previously.