Boston, this is for you

What a year.

I know that the one-year anniversary of the 2013 Boston Marathon is tomorrow, but it's close enough to a year and I feel too strongly to wait until tomorrow to blog. One year...

I've lived in Watertown for as long as I can remember, and I've always considered the town to be right outside of Boston. And it is, I mean I don't live in Boston, I live in Watertown. But four days after the Marathon, five days, one month, six months and fifteen days, one year minus one day, I've felt that I'm part of Boston, that we're part of Boston. This is our city, as David Ortiz said, albeit with a modifying adjective that I've excluded. It's just been a special year to have been from the city, to be at Fenway Park and the TD Garden and on Boylston street. It's hard for me to even find any words that can adequately explain the pride that the city has, that I have, because I think it's something you can't put into words. All of the response to the Marathon has been through actions, with the National Anthem at the Bruins game, with Nava's home run, with all of the stories of runners helping those injured, with all of the efforts made by the city to come together as one. And for the next week, we'll remember those lost, honor those who played their role, and continue to grow stronger.

I hope they televise everything they possibly can in prison so Dzhokhar Tsarnaev can see just how strong the city is, so he can see National Anthems being sung and sports games won and most importantly, people running and completing the marathon. I want him to see that life goes on, even if it may not for him. I want him to see that all of the love that will be shared in the next week, all of the love that has been shared in the past year, is infinitely greater than the hate he spread last April 15.

It's going to be a special week, one filled with lots of emotions. When it all comes down to it, the pervading theme is strength, and it's because of the pride that everyone has for Boston and what it means to them. It's just special. I probably only said half of what I wanted to, but just take all of this in for yourself. Videos about the Marathon and what has happened since just reinforce the notion that this is our city and our home.