Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Close to Home

As I'm sure most of you know, there was a bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon yesterday. Here's a little bit of writing I did last night before bed to try and wrap my head around the tragedy.

 I've been trying for the past few hours to distract my mind from what happened today. What started this afternoon as a surreal feeling of disbelief has become a feeling of great heaviness on my heart. This is my home. I live a little more than a mile from where this event occurred. For almost two years I passed through the Copley area on my way to work every day.


Copley Square is one of my favorite places. Copley Square is a melting pot of tourists, corporate professionals, street musicians, students, and panhandlers. Copley Square is tall gleaming sky scrapers next to the marble pillars of America's first public library and the old brick of the Trinity Church. Copley Square is a public green space that hosts a farmers' market two evenings a week during the growing season. Copley Square is food trucks, demonstrations, city buses festivals, holiday lights, and ice sculptures. Copley Square is the heart of this city.

Copley Square is not explosion, blood, limbs, tears.

I was folding laundry when Mike very seriously called me into the living room to see something on the tv. What I saw was confusing. Helicopter images of a scene that was simultaneously familiar and completely unfamiliar. Boylston street with debris and blood stained sidewalks. Seeing familiar storefronts in images that look straight out of a war zone is incredibly jarring.

For the next few hours I connected with friends in and around the city via social media and text. My twitter and facebook feeds were aflame with "I'm okay" and "I'm safe" notices. I celebrated each one. I answered texts and phone calls from friends and family far away assuring them that Mike and I were home safe with no intentions of leaving. I learned that a friend was watching the race between the two explosions, and that she made it home safely. I looked at photos and video I probably shouldn't have. It took me almost 8 hours for it to really sink in, and then I cried like a baby.

This is my home. I am okay.

33 comments:

  1. I am so glad that you are safe! It turns your world upside down when something so horrific happens where you live. Terrorism was in the back of my mind every single day when I lived in NY.

    -Sharon
    The Tiny Heart

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wanted to comment on your post, but I'm still not sure what to say. I think I'm still in shock and at a loss for words. Copley Square is my favorite part of Boston. My husband used to work at the Pru (thankfully he doesn't anymore) and I used to go there every weekend to meet up with him so that we could walk around and enjoy the city. I'm so sad and so angry at the same time.

    I'm glad that you and your family and friends are ok.

    xo, Yi-chia

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, Tashia. I'm so happy that you're okay but so very, very sorry for you and everyone else for which this attack was close to home in more ways that one.

    Hugs,

    Gracey

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am so, so happy that you are alright. I thought of you right away when I turned the news on and saw the bombing, it's just such a horrible, sad tragedy. I feel so awful for you, everyone who lives in that amazing city and all of the victims, it's horrible to have something like that happen in your home and to deal with the aftereffects every day.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Im so glad you and your friends are safe. I was completely horrified about the events on Monday. It unfortunately reminded me of 9/11 and how deeply I was affected about my hometown being violated in such a violent fashion. What made me feel better is the outpouring of love and support Boston has received across the country.

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Thanks for reading. I would love to hear your thoughts!