July 4, 2014

Technically, the title should be July 3, 2014. With Tropical Storm Arthur's impending arrival, the city moved the festivities a day earlier, hoping to avoid the storm. At 9 p.m., the skies were clear and so was the forecast for the next few hours, so, joined by a friend from community group, we hopped on our bikes and headed for Cambridge side.

Memorial Drive is always closed for the celebration; we enjoyed a leisurely ride weaving through the happy crowds of people. We staked out our spot and listened to the Beach Boys over the speakers as we counted down to fireworks.

At 10:07 p.m., a full 23 minutes before the scheduled start time, a pleasant voice announced the show would start immediately, and if the forecast was still clear by the time it was over, they would perform the 1812 Overture, normally the conclusion of the Pops concert and a teaser for the main event.

The show was beautiful, as always. My favorites (always) were the gigantic blooms that left trails of gold glitter suspended in the air like branches of a willow tree, and the explosions of green that hung in the sky for a moment before the sparks darted away like fireflies in all directions.

As the last of the finale sparks faded in the sky, the pleasant voice returned to the speakers. "Unfortunately the weather is not cooperating. State police have ordered an immediate evacuation of the area. Happy third of July!"

We inched our bikes through the packed crowds on Memorial Drive. As we approached the BU bridge, I heard shouts from the crowd ahead of us and felt a sudden short burst of water. Are fire trucks doing evacuation crowd control with hoses? I briefly wondered. The answer came swiftly, with a wall of rain driving sideways, followed by thunder and lightning.

We were all drenched in seconds. Unsure how long this onslaught would last or if it would get worse — Arthur was coming — we pressed on. By the time we got home, the rain had slowed down, I felt like I had jumped into a lake with my clothes on, and we couldn't stop laughing.

It may not have been our best view or biggest party, but this Independence Day in Boston will go down in our books as one of the best.

2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 (the one year we stayed in Brookline, can you tell?)

color us rad, the short white coat edition

As promised, we signed up to return for Color Me Rad 2014, and a couple friends even took us up on our offer to join the color. Thanks to one of said friends who happened to be graduating from med school the day before the race, we even had a team uniform: short white med student coats. It was a fun way to send Grant off to his West Coast residency with a bang, since graduation means trading up to the longer, full-fledged doctor coats.

pre-race white

post-race tint

post-color rave saturation (photo by Grant)

I fully intended on training for this race, even though it isn't timed. Last year it was so satisfying to know I ran the whole thing. But the cold hung on through the end of April, and the race was at the end of May. I got all of one run in, and hoped my yoga practice and weekend bike rides would carry me through. Had the course been the same as last year (flat), I'm sure I would have been fine. But the course this year at Kimball Farm (gorgeous) was mown into a field with lots of elevation changes. Almost immediately after starting, we slowed to a walk to climb a muddy hill single file while holding a safety rope. The rest of the course was less intense, but contained a few climbs steeper than my lungs could handle at a jog. Thankfully, my very fit teammates were kind enough to not leave me in the dust. We crossed the finish line together in a glorious puff of purple cornstarch.

I was slightly disappointed we were not met with free coconut water and frozen Greek yogurt popsicles, but we happily accepted free iced tea and dove straight in to the color rave. All of the running is really an excuse to enjoy the after party, which we discovered is even more fun with more friends. And it's even better when one of those friends is tall and can snag an impressive haul of the free color bombs and t-shirts tossed into the crowd. We also learned our formerly white coats were the perfect party attire. The deep pockets that hold pens and stethoscopes and other medical supplies also happened to be perfect for cell phones in plastic bags and Grant's haul of color bombs and swag. By the time we finally piled back into our rented minivan, we were infinitely more colorful than last year, and so thankful we were able to share the fun with Grant and Caroline.

Our coats are bleached white and our registrations are in for 2015 (thank you, $20 repeat runner registration), and we would love for you to join us next May. Who wants to get rad?







Read about our 2013 Color Me Rad experience, and see all our 2014 race photos on Flickr.

Happy birthday to the best blogger the interwebs have ever seen! I love you, Anna! Love, your blog un-savvy husband. (I hope this thing posts ok!)

thankful list | June 2014

01. dim sum with community group friends.
02. bubble tea.
03. shopping dates and clothing swaps.
04. DR trip prep planning over dinner from Dorado.
05. a work day play date lunch with one of my favorite families.
06. a REUNION baptism celebration.
07. Sweet Cheeks' can o' biscuits and honey butter.
08. a tasty dinner at an awards gala.
09. seeing a snapping turtle laying eggs near the office.
10. a new chair at work (I almost cried from happiness).
11. unbelievable support for our DR trip.
12. leadership community at REUNION.
13. brunch with our community group coach.
14. a place to donate my old bike: Bikes not Bombs.
15. an IKEA run (meatballs!)
16. brunch with good friends.
17. a bike ride to a new place: Castle Island.
18. a Skype session with the Vargas family (minus Jason).
19. a great DR trip meeting (only one team meeting left before the trip!).
20. catching a friend's doctoral thesis presentation, even though I only understood 25 percent.
21. our community group discussion about "God's offensively unconditional grace." (Thanks, Drew!)
22. planning out how to use up the food we have (I love organizing).
23. our first team practice for the office bocce league (because it's a fun lunch break).
24. frequent turtle sightings.
25. introducing friends to Filipino food (at JnJ Turo Turo).
26. celebrating Ian's birthday (and that I get to spend it with him).
27. a beautiful farewell party for the Wilson family as they head back to Illinois.
28. fancy + free dinner with Mikhail and Erin, thanks to one of his upcoming photo shoots.
29. unexpectedly seeing my favorite singer from American Idol season 3 performing at dinner.
30. a surprise ride to work from a friend.
31. a walk along the river on a gorgeous day.
32. bumping into one of the DR trip members in an unexpected place.
33. a happy kid feeding the ducks on the river.
34. despite a lot of new tasks and a busy week, ending Friday feeling without stress.
35. #SheReadsTruth with a strawberry + banana + canned coconut milk smoothie.
36. a fun office watch party for the US vs. Germany World Cup match.
37. an evening with coworkers on a Boston ghost tour, followed by a delicious dinner.
38. an on-time flight to Kansas City, arriving just in time for the wedding.
39. time with family, including lots of people we haven't seen in a while.
40. a beautiful wedding and a beautiful, inspiring couple.
41. telling my brother and his now-fiancee congratulations on their engagement in person.
42. an on-time flight back to Boston.
43. another lunch date with one of my favorite families.
44. a beautiful, abstract early birthday card from a talented toddler.