Celebrate

It is hard to believe it has only been a week and change since that oddly sunny, warm April day where we all spent the day inside, anxiously glued to the television/computer/rapid fire media information available on Twitter and Facebook. Similar to what I've heard others say, I was feeling a bit emotionally hungover for several days... finally feeling back to myself, I've realized that a lot of my personal coping has been through celebrating, in the broadest sense of the word, since sometimes these celebrations were more like sad or mournful recognition of the events during and around the Marathon. Here are some of the ways I've been celebrating and recognizing those lost and the strength and beauty of the Boston community. Please note: everyone is going to process all of this differently, so celebrating may not always be the answer - just thought this might be helpful for anyone still feeling a bit "off".

On Saturday, Ben and I walked the whole Freedom Trail - I feel our status as Bostonians is called into question a bit here since this is something hardly any natives have done but whatever. We were even offered quite a few tours. (It was my goal to look as touristy as possible - apparently, mission accomplished.) What we realized with all of our historical stops along the way, is that this city has a long and intense history of people standing up for what is right even if it is risky. The volunteers and first responders acted as true Bostonians would on Monday and Friday of last week.

On Monday, I went to the church near my office for the moment of silence at 2:50pm simply to be with other people and away from my desk. I stayed for a few minutes to send some love and strength out to people recovering from all kinds of injuries. I left and heard church bells ringing not just from where I had just emerged, but also another church down the street. Knowing that they were ringing all across the state and that we had all stopped to take a moment of reflection made me smile.

Stopped to take this photo of the "Boston Strong" MBTA bus messages on Tuesday:

Glimpsed some photos of Sean Collier's service at MIT on Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday, I went to Newbury St and Boylston St for a little Birthday Eve sushi with Jane followed by some shopping. It felt good to be out and about in the sunshine of the Back Bay and amongst others who seemed carefree and happy.

Later that night, I stopped by the makeshift memorial for Krystle Campbell, Lu Lingzi, Martin Richard and Sean Collier. There are loads of flowers, stuffed animals, signs and gifts. This was not as fun, with many crying or hugging, but it's certainly important to recognize the loss of young, promising lives. It was also heartwarming that the monument was more crowded than any of the stores I had been in before.

Thursday, I went to the Sox game, where the crowd clapped just as enthusiastically for Big Papi's first home run of the season as they did for the five firefighters recognized during the game.

And finally, snapped this beautiful blooming tree on Friday...