49.

It’s been, like, hot-hot for the last week, with Boston seized by the same heat wave affecting…well, everywhere else. Personally I’ve never cared for summer, even before it entered its villain era. And after a few days stuck inside avoiding the heat, the cabin fever had properly set in. So when I saw the temperature was in the high sixties ¹ this morning, it felt like the best birthday present. Like some misaligned cog in the planet’s inner workings had suddenly snapped back into alignment, and things started humming along happily.

Naturally, I woke up too damned early, as is my ~~curse~~ idiom. I drank some coffee on the couch, and watched some Critical Role with the kittens until She woke up. Then I opened some lovely gifts, and fielded some calls and texts from friends and family.

After that, I went out for a run.

Photograph from underneath a bridge spanning the Charles River, looking down the length of the bridge. The bridge’s support arches fade away into the distance.

Pretty sure I’ve said this before, but I’m a slow runner. And I’m fine with that: I don’t run competitively, and I really just love getting outside for a couple hours. And whenever possible, I try to get down to the river.

(Fun fact: when you start running along the Charles River, nobody prepares you for the frankly unhinged levels of gooseshit you’ll be dancing around.)

Photograph of two pedestrian paths next to the Charles River, each winding their way through some leafy green trees.

I struck out, running down through Cambridge and across the water. On the way I stopped at the emergency room where I got my diagnosis a few years back, took a quick selfie, and then kept on running.

A handmade “little free library” fashioned to look like a four-story brick apartment building, with various photographs inset in each of the building’s windows. The phrase “Little Free Library” is etched onto the side of the building.

I’m entering the last year of my forties, and it’s hard not to feel a bit reflective about the decade I’m in the process of closing. Did some good design work; started and left some jobs; started talking about labor in tech, and wrote a little book about it. There are old friends who’ve moved away, and I’ve been lucky enough to make a few new friends; having dinner with two of them tonight, in fact.

Photograph of some graffiti painted onto a concrete sidewalk, spelling H 2 6 K. The “H” has two balloons tied to it, the “2” is stylized to look like a little alien, the “6” has a little yellow cat inset into it, and the “K” has a chef’s hat.

There’s been loss and laughter aplenty. Throughout it all, She’s been there.

Photograph of the Charles River, looking west toward Allston and Cambridge. Some buildings are visible on the horizon, and the banks of the river are covered with green leafy trees.

Photograph of the Boston skyline, as seen from the Cambridge side of the Charles River. Centered in the frame are Boston’s three tallest skyscrapers: the John Hancock Tower, the Prudential Tower, and One Dalton tower.

I cross the bridge, snapping a few photos as I do, and start heading toward home. Always and happily toward home.

Footnote

That’s “the low 20s” for you Celsius sickos. (affectionate) ↩︎

This has been “49.” a post from Ethan’s journal.

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