Whenever I meet someone new out here and I tell them I'm from Maine, I always get the same response, "... Maine?!"
If I happen to meet someone from the northern half of the U.S. or the east coast or Canada or pretty much any where but the southwest, it's like we're long lost family. There is an instant connection of being "from away." Meeting someone from New England is a novelty for me, but it's like finding someone from your hometown.
And that's how I view New England these days - It's my hometown.
I have found the horrific events that have happened in New England over the past six month to hit me much harder than I expected. Maybe it has something to do with the distance between here and there.
I've had my fair share of homesick moments while being out here. My go-to homesick song is, "Boston" by Augustana. I've been singing it since hearing the news at lunch yesterday. I found the events heart-wrenching and it was compounded by the fact the miles of the marathon were dedicated to victims from the shooting in Connecticut.
When the shootings happened, there was a 26 acts of kindness initiative that started to trend. I said that I would be apart of it and haven't gotten around to it for all sorts of lame excuses. No more excuses. I will definitely be completing 26 acts of kindness.
I also think I will finally get my act together and start running. I saw a few people post on Facebook that they ran today even though they do not like running, and I thought there was something poignant about that. There's a 3 mile loop I love walking out here and I haven't run it - for all sorts of more lame excuses - even though I said I would try running it.
So, again, no more excuses. I will complete 26 acts of kindness (and not really stop at 26) and I will run. I have put it out there into cyberspace and I will hold myself accountable this time.
Take care of each other.
- M
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