Boston Marathon Bombings

It has been a long slow two weeks for me.  Many of the men had a hard time getting back into the swing of things after the 10 day Easter break.  I was certainly included in that, doing just the minimum to keep up with my studies and not much else.  I found myself spending hours playing on-line poker (not real money, relax) and chatting with the other players there.  It was a good place to lose myself each night.

Then the news struck about the bombings in Boston.  I was immediately thrown into a deep depression.  The tears were close to the surface for a couple of days and flowed easily as I was chatting with my poker buddies.  I had no idea that I had such an emotional connection with Boston.  It is not my hometown, I don't visit it that often, but I guess it is part of me.

The shutdown of Boston and surrounding towns is over, the crisis is over, the feelings are starting to fade. What do I make of all of this?  If I ever had a doubt about Boston or Maine for my diocese, I think the answer is now obvious.  Boston is my home.  I did not feel this way about 9/11 or any other crisis, but when it hit Boston, it hit me.

Where do I go from here? Well, first of all, I'm back studying and doing homework that can be done, not needs to be done.  I'm curtailing my on-line poker presence to a limited time on weekends.  But most of all, I'm wondering about my new found home in Boston.  I think I need to go visit my home a little more often.