Boston Strong.....................

I was born and raised in Roslindale, MA, about five miles from the Boston Marathon Finish Line. Last week, specifically Friday, while we were all on lock down, and watching our City fight back by doing what absolutely had to be done, I was never more proud to be a Bostonian.  While my heart bleeds for the families and friends of all of the victims, I applaud all of the people involved with the man hunt and all the people who stayed out of their way.  I applaud all of the business owners who didn't open Friday, I applaud all of the mothers and fathers who kept their children inside and occupied while outside all hell broke loose.

While watching the lock down on TV, seeing the images of the stark streets of Boston and hearing helicopters in the distance, I was filled with such an enormous amount of pride for our people, and impressed with the compassion and unity that was so apparent. I was amazed with the speed in which inspiring pictures and symbols were popping up on Facebook - - with one phrase in particular -

  ~ BOSTON STRONG ~

I feel that Boston Strong defines us as a community, but more importantly, it has bred throughout Boston for years and the individual culmination has created this solidarity that can only prove the old adage “power in numbers”.

I've been told that I am a “strong person” for as long as I can remember. I have family and friends and acquaintances alike that can all claim the “strong” title. I just assumed it was a universal thing. But now, after watching the events unfold and reading the various stories come about, and witnessing the community pull together in unity, I am deeply moved and touched to my core by the humanity we are blessed with here in our wonderful City of Boston.

Prior to last week's awful events, I had been mentioning to a few friends of mine that I wanted to reach out to Jennifer Graziano, creator of Mob Wives, and pitch a new show based in Boston. I would hope to banish the current image our City has from recent Reality TV shows or older movies where at least one person had a really bad accent. Wicked Single? Seriously? I want my five minutes back. Unfortunately, a piece of that five minutes was the “Work Hard and Party Harder” quote that the blonde chic blurted out and VH1 loops on commercials. It's like acid in the eye.

Boston's Finest has redeemed our rep quite a bit, but it also brings the rest of the country to the doorstep of crime and negativity in Boston.  Last week, the strength, unity and sheer determination to eradicate the evil-doers from our midst, and the bond that we all shared as Bostonians, gave the rest of the country a glimpse of our “Bad-Ass-edness”...... We should be celebrated, and not as a bunch of weird talking drunk people who are loud and obnoxious.

I have an idea and a story, and I feel as if it's a valiant one. I love my children fiercely and am raising them alone.  My eldest, Kerry is 19 and in her first year of college, and my youngest, Eleanor, is 5 and in K1. The past few years have been challenging and I've had to really think outside of the box to be able to support my children and keep our heads up. My family, friends and community really helped us when things looked grim.....personal proofs of a city full of people who ultimately stand with one another.....I am truly blessed.  My parents, God rest, were incredible people who started a Legacy of successful, wonderful human beings. I am the baby of eight children, and have 24 nieces and nephews, and 20 great nieces and great nephews......the legacy keeps expanding and it's an awe inspiring thing to watch. I also have a lot of very close friends and thousands of acquaintances as I meet people regularly in my business as a Realtor. My Dad used to say that there was a birthday every 11 days in our family, and that was over 15 years ago.....I have not taken the time to figure out the current number, but my point is more that we as a family are so wide-spread in professional fields and continue to grow in that direction that the chances are high of vast audiences being able to relate to someone in my immediate circle.....or their circle and so on and so on....like water ripples.

The long and short of it is; I think we should be on TV. This shit is too funny not to share with the rest of the Country.    

I love the show Mob Wives. I just stumbled onto it one day and then watched both season one and two on Netflix like a recluse. It was not healthy. Now, you have to understand, I am not usually into the Jersey Shore or Kardashian type of shows, so was unprepared for my own crazy obsession for watching these women dealing with difficult situations and survival....... just like me. Maybe not exactly like me, as I don't have fur coats and don't have fist fights on the regular, but you get the point. As a single mom, the pressures are high of raising two girls on either end of the age spectrum.. I have wiggled and scootched and succeeded in balancing the unbalanced for a very long time. I am always going to want more for my girls. Always. It just means that I will be continuously striving......and teaching my children that they should as well. Just about everyone I know, and everyone they know, and their two friends and so on and so on, have issues.  

That's Life.

We would all be robots if our days and nights were vanilla ice cream. Maybe I will write a book that gets turned into a TV series......or maybe I should just have a TV Series and call it “Boston Strong”, about a plethora of subjects, mainly but not limited to Family, Real Estate and Football. Sounds like a success to me.

Boston Strong, how real people struggle and succeed with a little help from their friends. <3 Love you guys.

Stay Red White and Blue Boston. You truly are inspirational.