passing the time during friday's lock-down
I wrote about our experience at the Marathon a week ago, we felt such gratitude for our own safety and so heartbroken for all of those who were hurt in those tragic events. In the days that followed, the news focused on the explosions, but I chose not to watch or listen to any reports. It's not for lack of empathy, actually I think I am too emotional and can get pulled in so deeply that it isn't healthy or productive.
James prefers to be connected and know what's going on, he always listens to the radio in the morning. On Friday Little Smith woke up early, just before six. The radio clicked on and I heard it get louder and louder. There had been a shoot out less than a mile from our house, a suspect was on the loose, we were in the area that was on lock-down until further notice, stay inside, doors locked, subways and buses were suspended. Later the lock-down would extend to the entire city of Boston, which still amazes me... that's a lot of people.
My first thought was that I wanted to run away, to drive to my mom's a few hours west. The roads were closed though, and as I said we were supposed to stay put. We locked all the doors, opened the windows to let the balmy seventy degree air fill the house, and pitched a tent in our office... so we could pretend like we were outside even if we were stuck indoors.
The streets were completely silent, the only sounds were constant low flying helicopters and occasional police and ambulance cars. It was a very strange experience, and it did feel like some war torn place and not like my home. I knew that logically we were pretty safe, and I'm a logical girl, but my mind did wander a few times... to the basement door that had been unlocked through the night until we heard the news, to the loose window in our ramshackle garage. It's difficult not to let these anxieties creep in when it's all so close, especially when you have a small child and want to ensure he's protected.
Little Smith got antsy half way though the day, the weather was the warmest it had been all season and he pressed his face against the window screen and demanded 'me go outside now!'. We tried to redirect him, we played in the tent and drew pictures and read books and made cookies and played in the tent again.
Shortly after we put Little Smith down to sleep, we heard the news that the suspect had been caught. It was over, finally. The whole thing is tragic on so many levels, but I was incredibly relieved to have it all come to an end. I'm looking forward to turning the page on this week, to starting a fresh new Monday and celebrating Earth Day and just getting back to life as usual. I'm very grateful that I can do all of that, and again, I'm so sorry to those who are still hurting from this very difficult week here in Boston.