Boston Marathoner Asks: How Do We Make Life Significant?

Last updated on: April 17, 2013 at 10:20 pm by Nancy French

Boston Marathoner Asks: How Do We Make Life Significant? 2013-04-17T22:20:55-05:00 Nancy French

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Guest Post By Christi Beth & Matthew Adams

We arrived in Boston late Saturday evening. As we relaxed in the hotel restaurant waiting for our food, my ever philosophical husband stared out into space and posed the question, “How are we going to make life magnificent?”

This is typical for us. My mind is constantly juggling the logistics of fitting a workout, laundry, and childcare into an already packed workday, and Matt rises above the day to day to focus on the big picture of how we really want to live our lives. I think that’s what makes us a good team.

The conversation that followed centered on our children and on ourselves and after much discussion we decided there was one common theme. What makes life magnificent is dependent on how we interact with others. The idea is that someone walks away from an interaction better, lighter, happier than they were before the interaction. We believe that about the fleeting moment you have with a stranger when you hold the door for them. We believe that about the experience we give our customers from the fit stool. Ultimately, we believe that about any interaction you have in your day with family, friends, and strangers.

At our pre-race dinner the following night we praised our waitress for her incredible service. “You’re awesome!” is all we could say to commend her – along with my husband’s ever generous tipping (he’s terrible with percentages, but always to the advantage of our server!)

“Wicked!”, she replied. “Wicked pissah! You can say it if you want!” she said, giving us permission to use the New Englander phrase that is often used to describe something that is really awesome (or really bad).

Wicked pissah. What a perfect phrase to describe what happened the following day. The Boston Marathon is a once in a lifetime experience. The girls at Wellesley were cracking me up and I even stole a kiss on the cheek from one of them! The deep toned drums up Heartbreak Hill were incredible. There were throngs of people along every inch of the course that cheered like it was their job! And crossing the finish line when my muscles were telling me they couldn’t take anymore was a huge relief. But what followed shortly after was tragic and I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that the 2 “cannons” I heard were actually bombs. Of the thousands of people that were out there making Monday an awesome experience, sadly there was someone choosing to make it awful.

We believe, and we hope you do too, that there is more good than bad. There will be many opportunities in the days ahead to remember, honor and serve the folks involved with this incident. We will communicate these opportunities to you as the details are worked out, but in the meantime, there is nothing stopping each of us from seeking opportunities and interactions in our day to day lives to make our lives and those of others better, lighter, happier.

– Christi Beth & Matthew Adams

Nancy’s Note: Christi Beth and Matthew own Fleet Feet Sports in Brentwood, Tennessee. I bought a pair of shoes from them when I ran the Nashville Music City Half-Marathon a couple of years ago. Great shoes. Great store. This morning, Christi Beth sent the above essay to her customers, and I found it very touching. Thank you, Christi Beth, for allowing me to share your thoughts and reflections to my readers. Follow them on Twitter here and Facebook here.

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