Sneak Peek

 

A Reflection to Read the Night Before 

(thanks to Co-Pilot for generating this after I uploaded a few of my letters that I'd written to folks and my intention for Boston) 

THE NIGHT‑BEFORE REFLECTION — Boston Eve

Tonight is for stillness. For letting the noise settle and the meaning rise. For remembering that this race began long before Hopkinton— in letters written, in people cherished, in the slow, steady practice of noticing what is good.

Tonight is for remembering the faces: the ones who taught you to pay attention, the ones who taught you to laugh, the ones who taught you to pray, the ones who taught you to keep going.

Tonight is for gratitude that has been building for 26 weeks— a quiet, steady tide rising in your chest.

Tonight is for blessing your body: these legs that have carried you through grief and beauty, this heart that has held so much love, this breath that has steadied you through every mile.

Tonight is for remembering that joy is not naïve. It is brave. It is defiant. It is a choice to keep your heart open in a world that gives you reasons to close it.

Tonight is for trust. Trust that you have done the work. Trust that you will be met on the course. Trust that joy will rise to meet you just when you need it most.

And tonight is for blessing tomorrow: May the miles be holy. May the crowds lift you. May the joy you’ve practiced become the joy you embody.

Rest now. Tomorrow, you run your prayer.

Annual Blessing for the Runners

Boston Bombing Memorial - just installed this month in honor of those who died in 2013:

‘It’s changed everything:’ Boston Marathon bombing victims honored 13 years later | GBH

Make Way for Ducklings at the Boston Public Gardens 

Copley Hotel 

Countdown Time!

 

so very very grateful to be here. 

💙💛💙💛💙

dinner with Ysabel tonight :) 

Snoopy Dance!

Snoopy Dance Song

Cue the Snoopy dance for this happy reunion today!!!!!!!!!!!

What a treat to be at the Harvard Museum of Natural History today 

to see these unbelievable glass flowers on Harvard campus

From the Hands of the Makers | Harvard Museum of Natural History

Esper is a junior here and we just called her this afternoon when we were on campus to see if we could catch her. Another reason for a Snoopy dance! 

in front of Lowell House where Marcia and Stuart met when they were students here 

 

walking by a gorgeous dance studio near campus-- HOME — José Mateo Ballet Theatre

and the 4th happy dance of the day seeing Ysabel!! 

Backstage Pass

It’s not every day you get a backstage pass into someone else’s life—but that’s exactly what today felt like.

After Mary Price picked me up at the airport at "silly o'clock" last night, she somehow rallied to go teach this morning while I slept in and came to one of her classes after lunch. Getting to watch her in action with her students was such a treat—she has such a wonderful way with them, equal parts warmth, humor, rapport, and high expectations. 

Then, as if that weren’t enough, I got to see her shift gears and take charge of a middle school track meet after school. Clipboard in hand, moving a hundred things forward at once, empowering high school kids she's recruited to help run the show, cheering kids on—it was a whole second act.

She’s been at this school for 22 years and coaching track for nearly two decades, which explains a lot. The connection she has with her students isn’t something you can fake—it’s built over years of showing up, paying attention, and caring deeply. You can tell she’s beloved here.

Honestly, it made me choke up to see her so fully in her element—like getting to watch someone you love absolutely nail their role onstage, except the stage is a classroom and a track field, and the audience is a bunch of middle and high schoolers who clearly adore her. 💗

Home Team

 

So grateful for this home team of amazing people I get to work with at Harborview- 

truly these folks have some of the biggest hearts I know. 

(Dionne, Lauren, Arlene, Elyse, and Gioia) 

Here's the reflection I wrote about one of my hospital visits today: 

Sometimes

The room was quiet
as mother and son
kept vigil together.

A full life of ninety‑seven years
was coming to a close.

And just like when he was an infant,
he is sleeping most of the day now.

Still, the mother and son
wait and watch
together.

As I spoke with the son,
he shared that he came
ten years ago from Hong Kong
to care for his parents.
I affirmed the honor and dedication
in this commitment,
but he simply said
this is what you do—
it is woven into the culture
to care for one’s elders.

And he expressed gratitude
that he has been able
to be here.

When I reflected on what a gift
he has been to his parents,
he smiled and said,
“That’s true… sometimes.”

And there it was—
the honesty of family life.
The way love can be steady
and still imperfect.
How we can be the gift
and the thorn
in the same breath.

We love imperfectly.
We love the best we can.
And the “sometimes”
is the truth we all know—
the truth we can laugh about,
and the truth that keeps us
trying to love
anyway.

 

Van Life

I got to drive to the race at Ancient Lakes with my friend Della, and we came over in the sprinter van that her husband Wayne tricked out during Covid. Such a fun weekend adventure! 

slumber party in the bottom "bunk" that opens up -- so many cool features of this van!