After the week from hell we had here in Boston, I needed to get myself back together. Weekends start on Thursday nights for me so the first thing I did was get a sparkly manicure, eat a burger, and go see an obscure documentary about crows in Tokyo, called Tokyo Waka. (It’s fascinating! Crows are wicked smart. If you can catch it on the film festival circuit, it’s worth the time.) Perfect start to my indulgent weekend.
After a good night’s sleep, I had an abbreviated dance party on Friday morning and then headed out to get my grey, frizzy hair colored, cut, and styled. And then I picked up my new PROGRESSIVE glasses. I almost hugged the guy after I put them on and tried to read something in front of my face. So awesome!
Here’s the new hair plus new glasses combo. You can’t really see the dark tortoise shell of the frames.
Hungry and thirsty, I wandered down the street to Nix’s Mate and ordered a dark and stormy.
And this ridiculously amazing flatbread pizza with salami & pepperoni, tomato gravy, mozzarella, leeks, and spicy fried rock shrimp!
After lunch, I had some time to spare so I stopped by the aquarium to see the seals outside.
It was warm enough out that I could sit on the Greenway with my new spring bag. Five different people told me how much they liked the color.
And then I went to see my therapist to clear out the debris left in my head from the bombings. I share this openly here because, seriously people, that was some crazy stuff and we all saw images a person should never see, and we all felt violated and scared and uncertain. Sometimes you need a professional to help you sort through all that garbage. (And if you don’t have one, call your employer’s EAP.)
I then scurried home to change and took the green line to Copley. And then I walked up the entire length of Boylston Street. Past the Marathon finish line, still visible on the street.
And past the site of the first bombing. I walked on the opposite side of the street because I wasn’t ready to go over there.
And then past the site of the second bombing. I felt sad, a little nauseous, and a whole lot angry. It was hard to reconcile the images of the blasts with what I was seeing in front of me.
The Mr. and I met at towne stove and spirits and enjoyed a lovely date night dinner — lobster popovers and filet mignon!
We then walked back down Boylston to get a drink at the M Bar at the Mandarin. It is across the street from the second bombing site and where the cameras caught that kid on film leaving the scene of the crime. Without his backpack. It made me angry again — I may have used a few vulgarities to describe him.
The next morning, we headed back to Boylston Street to spend some more money.
It was finally springy and the one man band guy was out by the lagoon.
And the swan boats were in the water and my favorite pink tree was in bloom!
The tulips had sprouted. (I LOVE THOSE!)
And then we walked down Boylston Street. On the other side this time. I stood on the sidewalk where the first bomb exploded. And I felt a sense of calm and peace mixed in with horror. Thinking about that day and the carnage that happened here and the lives that were irrevocably changed. But I also felt a sense of control return. A sort of “Yeah, you did that but I am standing here now. And where are you?” feeling.
We headed across the street to the Lenox Hotel, a place that had been empty for the first time in over a 113 years after it was evacuated after the bombings. The staff all wore Boston Strong tshirts, which was awesome!
After brunch we walked down the street to the memorial site. Our heroes, the Boston cops, were lined up neatly. (Cue Ted and Marshall from HIMYM and their Departed schtick: “Are you a cawp? Are you a cawp?)”
A statue of John Singleton Copley stood guard over the site.
Who knows what this person saw that day. Love this small display of resilience.
These sneakers left at the memorial site were moving. Some of them had messages on them that would just break your heart.
After leaving the memorial site, I turned around, just in time to see this dog doing a belly crawl towards the Mr. Dogs love him! We walked home feeling pretty strong and spent the afternoon napping.
Sunday morning is usually spent on the couch drinking coffee, reading the newspaper, and watching CBS Sunday Morning. In the afternoon, it was such a lovely day that we took a walk towards the harbor.
This statue — that is reconfigured in a new shape every year — commemorates the Armenian diaspora. It is “symbolic of all who were pulled apart from their country of origin and came to these Massachusetts shores, establishing themselves in new and different ways.” Yeah, take a moment to dwell on that.
(I also posted about the statue when it was in its previous configuration here.)
We walked down the Greenway towards the Harborwalk in Fort Point. And then spent the afternoon in the sun at the outside bar at Rumba, drinking dark and stormy’s, watching the tourists throw crates into the harbor and shouting rebellious things at the Boston Tea Party Museum in front of us, and feeling so happy to be in the sun, living our lives.
