The Earth is not a cold dead place / Boston Strongest, pt. 4

I have a confession - after having lived in Watertown since I can remember (age 3, if you're keeping score at home), and having gone to Red Sox games with my dad for almost just as long, I went to my first Patriots' Day game today, and went to see the Boston Marathon for the first time ever. Two events that I would have loved to experience before today, but also two events that I want to experience every year after this. It's just so special to be in Boston on Marathon Monday, and I've always known that today was a sacred holiday in Boston and Massachusetts, but it was so much more the case this year. The world seemed to stop for a little and focused in on Boston, and a year removed from last year's Marathon, today was all about celebration. It was as nice a day you could ask for. The Red Sox represented with their 'BOSTON' jerseys, starting what will hope to be yet another tradition every third Monday in April. The winner of the men's division of the Marathon was the first American to finish first since 1983. Fenway went nuts when he was shown on the Jumbotron, and Fenway was nuts all morning/afternoon long. It felt like an October game because of all of the energy at the ballpark and in the city, and as much as I had thought about the tension on this day, on the potential levels of being scared, it all went away when you were just there, standing on the railings. The number of runners moving past you stopped no more than their own legs did, always moving one step closer to the finish line.

As much as Boston Strong has kept up, as much as the Red Sox and the city have supported each other, as much as we were all anticipating the 118th Boston Marathon, I think we can close the book on this chapter. It's certainly something that will never be forgotten, and every Marathon Monday and Patriots' Day game will be special, but today, one year removed from last year's events, was even more special, even more surreal because of the love and strength that was shared between everyone. The Earth is not a cold dead place.