Oh friends, the Boston Women's March was the best thing that ever could have happened yesterday! After weeks of tears and heartbreak, sadness and confusion, gathering on Boston Common with roughly 200,000 other people was just what my heart and soul needed. It was the first time since election night that I'd felt hopeful. It was the first time since election night that I felt like I could breathe again.
As soon as we arrived at the Common you could just feel the positive energy all around! Boston was full of love and kindness that day (and a whole lot of pink pussyhats)! After a few quick pictures we made our way onto the Common. The sea of people stretchered for as far as the eye could see. People were all around, some were even perched in the trees, others on some nearby bleachers. Last we knew 90,000 had registered to go, yet this felt like far more than 90,000!
The speeches began, the cheering began and the sky began to clear. It had been a somewhat overcast day when we arrived (though not nearly as cold and gloomy grey as the day before) and yet as Mayor Walsh introduced Elizabeth Warren I couldn't help but notice how the sky brightened to a lovely shade of blue, and how the white puffy clouds moved in to replace the grey ones. It's as if Mother Nature was right there with us making her feelings known, too!
Maura Healey, Massachusetts Attorney General, summed the day and the crowd up best, "this is what love trumping hate looks like!" she proclaimed. The crowd went wild!
After the People's Oath we began to move off the Common and on to the street to begin the March. Everyone was so kind and considerate of each other. In a group that size you expect to be pushed and shoved, and yet none of that occurred. People were so polite and caring and mindful. It was absolutely incredible!
We didn't march the entire route, but we did walk a good portion of it, before cutting through the Public Garden to make our way back to the bus. We had decided to leave a little on the early side so that we could be ahead of the crowds who would be trying to get out of the city after this amazing day. We had made it in to Boston in record time, and were hoping the trip back to Framingham would be just as quick and easy (it was).
As we all boarded the bus you could feel how everyone's spirits had been lifted. This march was indeed good for the soul! We returned to Plymouth Church refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to take whatever next steps need to be taken to keep the momentum going! It was an incredible day. It was a historic day. And I am so very glad not only to have been a part of it but also to have shared it with such an amazing group of women from our incredible faith community (and our wonderful senior pastor, Greg, too). It was an experience I will carry with me always. xo
