It was April 15th, 2013. I was out during the day; I was supposed to meet someone for the first time in a town about an hour away. He never showed, apparently he got too busy with work. So I drove around in this town that I had never been: Framingham. It was a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining and it was very, very warm, almost like summertime.
While I was driving, I ended up in Hopkinton and came across the starting line for the 117th Boston Marathon. The Marathon was that day and had started a few hours prior. It was really cool to see the bright blue and yellow line painted on the pavement and the banner hanging from the front of a nearby building.
After getting somewhat lost, I found my way back to the highway and headed home. About 15 minutes into my drive, I needed gas so I pulled off the highway and found the nearest station. As I got back into my car, I turned on the radio. Most of my station presets are Boston stations. However, no music was playing on any of them.
BREAKING NEWS: A bomb has exploded at the finish line of the Marathon!
I couldn’t believe my ears! Who would do such a thing?! I had friends running! I listened to the news reports the entire remainder of my drive home. All 45 minutes or so.
When I got home, I picked up my daughter next door at her grandmother’s. She had just turned four so I had to shut off my brain and all of the emotions inside it to put on my “mom” hat. We played, watched TV, had dinner together, and finished off the day with bath time and bedtime for her.
Once she was asleep, my brain decided it was time to wake up and run through all of the emotions that were currently napping. I still couldn’t believe what had happened that day. People were killed; others seriously injured. I went to school just a few miles from the finish line. It hit really close to home and had a profound impact on me. Now that my daughter was asleep, I was all alone. I had nobody to talk to. I needed someone to talk to.
bos2lax 