Hard to even know where to start this post. So many emotions wrapped up in a day like today, sadness for the loss of life, prayers for the injured, and love and support for the runners, their families and friends who will never forget today. The acts of heroism locally and the outreach across everyone who knew someone who was in Boston, or might be, was nothing short of remarkable. There are no explanations for days like today. We need to mourn the losses, and we need to show respect for the strong feelings that people will have from today. And then we need to remind ourselves of the love and life we have around us. We need to grab hold of it and appreciate it, appreciate it every day.

At first I thought maybe I should not write today. Then I realized that this THPL community, all be it small, represents the other side of today’s tragedy. It represents the hope that the thousands of runners and fans brought to Boston today. It is the reason that the terrorists from today will not win the day – they will not deter us from the love and care and support we have for each other. The charity that was at the foundation of many of the runners efforts will continue – we will all strive to make even deeper commitments to how we live, support and love. Today for THPL it is all about Life – it is precious and cherished and at times fragile – we should need no reminder why we should protect it with the deepest part of our heart and soul.

And so at this moment it is our choice; how we move forward is up to us. My hope is that the beauty, tradition, and glory of the Boston Marathon will continue now and forever, in spite of today. Yes, we will always remember today and we will be stronger for it. A moment of silence in remembrance.

Loving Life, even more, because I have to on a day like today..

Joe