Although I didn’t do an official race today, I always make it a point to go for a run on the first day of the new year. I find it to be a symbol of things to come during the next year in this crazy beautiful life of mine.

Just a short, easy run of seven miles today. Nothing crazy because ooh man am I sleepy.

I hope you all had an awesome NYE and are waking up feeling as lucky and as blessed as me…We went to a dear friends house last night and had a blast! (I didn’t take any pics besides the one below…Bad blogger)

And now this….I need to share this story with all of you because it made my heart swell 87 sizes while I was reading it. (Shout out to BESTIE for sharing it)

2013 was definitely an emotionally and mentally challenging year for me. I can only speak for myself(and not for my group of family/friends who were there too), but I have been deeply, deeply affected by the Boston marathon bombings. It is an event that will never quite leave me. Although it was nearly nine months ago, it is still fresh in the forefront of my mind. Perhaps if my family, friends and I had not been so close it would not have affected me so intensely.

I can honestly say that I am a different person since it happened. I am definitely more emotional and sappy than I was before. I see the world in a way that I never have before: realizing that every day is truly a gift and do not EVER take it for granted. If I love someone, I say it. And I say it often because I want everyone around me to know how I feel about them at all times because at any moment, they, or anyone around me, could be gone. Life is short. Life is precious.

(I am the circle)
The two minutes following the bombs being detonated were the most tortuous and harrowing 120 seconds I have ever gone through. I did not know if there were going to be more bombs. I did not know if the ground I was standing on was even stable. I did not know where my “people” were. But by some freaking incredible miracle–they found me…only two minutes later. One of my girlfriends has told me that the moment they found me will haunt her forever because I couldn’t stop screaming. (Sorry, wifey) We were lucky. A friend of mine was separated from her parents, husband and bf for HOURS. I cannot imagine the anguish and separation anxiety that she must have gone through.

And Although the bomber(s) were very, very bad people, I have not lost my faith in humanity. That day, and on the days following it, I witnessed more acts of human kindness than I have ever seen. I think every single person I have ever known in my entire life somehow reached out to my husband and I to check on us. People called my parents, emailed, dropped in, face booked, texted…I could go on and on. My cell had died that day immediately following the bombing and in the moment after the bombs had detonated, I was only able to send out one text, to my sister saying “call mom and tell her we’re okay”. By the time I turned it on again, I had about 60 text messages and a dozen voicemails
.. I didn’t even know I knew 60 people. Let me tell ya, I have never felt quite so loved as I did after that. Near death experiences have a way of bringing absolute clarity to your life. Believe me.

So I walked out of this experience knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that people are good. They are kind. And that I am loved. I love more passionately and more deeply than I ever knew was possible. So, maybe if you are operating on the principle that “everything happens for a reason” than perhaps you can say the reason I was utterly too close to the bombs is to realize my own purpose in life.

Moving on from my own narrative, I want to share the story that truly touched my heart: Caroline Reinsch and Christian Williams both suffered serious injuries and permanent scarring in the Boston Marathon bombing in April, but it’s what happened afterward that will always make them remember that day. While in the hospital during the aftermath of that horrific event, they learned that Reinsch, 39, was pregnant, and that they’d get to have the baby they’d been trying to conceive since 2012. Williams equates his feelings and memory of what happened that day to learning he was going to be a father. I think that is so uplifting and positive. He was able to turn his own tragedy into something amazing.

This is the best part…Baby Marlowe was born on December 18, six days before her due date of Christmas Eve. I remember reading about this couple back in April, and I couldn’t be happier for them now for how their lives are not marred by injuries. They are filled with joy as they continue on in their journey of being new parents.

For the full story, go here

My last message to you here today is to realize how special your own life is. You are freaking awesome, so go spread your awesome-ness around, won’t you?? 😉

Have a wonderful and happy New Year’s Day, everyone
Xoxo
The Girl Who Ran Everywhere