Since early February of this year, I have anxiously been awaiting our birthday/anniversary trip to Boston. Justin and I went to Boston in the summer of 2000 for a late honeymoon. Ten years later, we were excited about going back for two reasons:
1. Justin was going to get to see the Red Sox play the Yankees at Fenway Park,
2. We were going to revisit historical Boston and have some time alone.
My wonderful parents came from Texas for a visit and to take care of the kids for us. On Thursday morning we boarded a plane to Boston.
After an hour delay, our flight went off without a hitch, maybe we should have seen the inevitable coming with the start of the trip! By the way, rain was forecasted for the whole weekend in Boston. We arrived in Boston and went to our hotel room for our first night.
We celebrated our 11th anniversary dinner early since we would be spending our actual anniversary on a plane back to North Carolina. After searching for a place to eat, we went The Cheesecake Factory. The meal was delicious and the time spent together was wonderful.
I was too full to eat my cheesecake after dinner, so we brought one back to the room. Cheesecake is my ultimate favorite dessert. It was delicious and I enjoyed every bite, I think I might have given Justin a taste or two!
We woke up pretty early on Friday in hopes of a full day of seeing Boston and then going to the game. After taking our luggage to a friend's house that we were going to stay at that night, Justin and I embarked upon our journey of walking the "Freedom Trail" and sightseeing. The weather was great, slightly hotter than in the forecast, but there were only a few clouds in the sky. The forecast called for light showers after lunch until around 8:00pm. We started our journey at the Holocaust Monument.
Ten years ago, this monument had such an impact on me that I no trouble remembering where it was. To walk through the six glass towers seeing row upon row of numbers nearly brought me to tears again. I was reminded of God's sovereignty even over death.
We then found the famous "red line" that marks the Freedom Trail, a trail that leads you by all the historical sights. We walked by Revere's house, saw some old churches, a few grave yards, and some interesting statues of Benjamin Franklin. Reading the inscriptions on the headstones in the cemetery was very interesting, almost all of them started with "Here lies the body of," reminding the onlookers and grievers that these people's souls were not there, just their bodies.
On our first trip, Justin took a picture just like this with the same statue.
One of the most popular places to visit is Quincy Market, named after Mayor Josiah Quincy, who organized its construction without any tax or debt. It used to be the place that people bought and sold food to each other, but now it is just a great place to each lunch with everything you can imagine.
Almost like a "where's Jeanna" photo!
We came upon a random statue of a donkey, and Justin and I happened to have just bought an apple at the local outside market.
We took the T (subway) to Fenway with great expectations and high hopes of seeing the Red Sox beat the Yankees. (Justin and I have been married for 11 years, and never had I been more excited about giving him something, the tickets to the game for his birthday. I saved for almost a year for these tickets, so I couldn't wait to experience this dream of his to see Fenway). After eating an early dinner, we strolled to the park about 5:15, with the game time being 7:10. We were in hopes of seeing some batting practice. A few minutes after we arrived, it started to drizzle, which it had been raining on and off all day. The tarp was on the field, but we were high hopes that the forecast would ring true and we would see a baseball game, even if it started late.
The drizzle continued and when game time came, the announcer said, "due to inclement weather the game is delayed."
We walked up and down under the park sat for awhile and waited. Finally, around 9:10, the rain stopped and the announcer said the new game time would be 10:00pm. We went to our seats, wiped them off, and sat down, anticipating this dream coming true. About 20 minutes later, it stared to rain again, we put our ponchos on and opened the umbrella and listened as the announcer went on with the pregame show.
Before it rained, we took some pictures.
Justin in front of the "green monster."
While it was raining slightly, the Red Sox pitcher came out and was warming up. My favorite player, Jason Varitek (I spelled his name wrong on the picture below!), came out to warm him up. I was thrilled to see him and Big Papi in the starting line up.
Another 10 minutes went by and then we saw the yellow coats come back out and start spreading the tarp back over the field. Disappointment rose up inside me for Justin mostly. I patiently waited for him to say let's go, but kept praying and hoping that the game would be played. We waited, sitting in the pouring rain until 10:45. (By the way, those $1 ponchos kept us pretty dry). Wet, disappointed, and tired, we took the T back to our friends house. We knew that the game would be rescheduled but that we would already be back in North Carolina. There are no refunds.
As we rode the T that night, I was so thankful for husband who handles disappointed with grace and humility, one who trusts in the One who is sovereign over the rain.
I learned a lot about myself and realized more than anything that I love my husband more than any other thing or person in this world. I was reminded that "the heart of man plans his way, but he Lord establishes his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).
Thanks Justin for a wonderful time, here's to 11 more years growing together in the Lord. I love you!
Head to head they went, 
not being afraid or timid,
but when the game was over, it was all HUGS and ENCOURAGING WORDS!
Throwing the ball in,
going for the goal,
a contented Karis in her new favorite position: GOALIE
Karis did a great job throwing the ball down field to her teammates after stopping the other team from scoring.
She stopped four balls and allowed one goal. Great job Karis Ann!
