Life Freaking Rocks More Days than Not

So a few days ago, I had one of those days that didn’t involve any sunshine, cupcakes or rainbows. No, not at all. Instead it was a day of being annoyed, angry and sad at the circumstances of my life, which caused me to mutter words under my breath in yoga class that weren’t conducive to relaxing.

After some time spent reflecting, followed by a good night’s sleep, I woke up the next day feeling better, but not exactly perky or ready to tackle the world.

I had planned to run a 10k being hosted by my local hospital… the hospital where I had additional surgeries after coming home from California six weeks following the accident. Because the hospital was such a big part of my recovery, I like to support it, but Sunday morning I found myself wondering why they had to pick this particular day to do their darn race.

But I went… because one day spent at home feeling sorry for myself is permissible, but two days is an indulgence of time that I don’t want to waste my life on.

As I stepped from my car, the familiar pre-race sights and sounds greeted me and I found my spirits lifting a tad. Saying hello and chatting with various running friends had me relaxing more and I knew I was where I needed to be.

As I did a warm up walk, I couldn’t help but be grateful as I looked up at the hospital building where I spent weeks not knowing if I would ever walk again. Then I smiled as I replayed the scene in my mind a few weeks later when I was first able to put weight on my legs and I played a joke on Jerry by ‘falling off my wheelchair’.

Taking a few deep breaths as I stretched my beatup, but strong legs,
I found myself saying, Life is good. 

The race started and after a slow first mile due to the crowd, I felt good and with perfect running weather, I soon found my groove and ran the 10k (6.2 miles) in about 66 minutes, which is a great time for me.

As I traded race stories with friends (which is an essential part of running) following the race, I was struck again by how much running means to me. And I’m so grateful for how well I recovered and how many obstacles I’ve overcome.

I couldn’t have done it without tremendous support from my family, friends and community.
I’m also grateful I had the opportunity to have additional surgeries and therapies on my left leg which decreased my pain and increased my range of motion allowing me to run again.

Thinking about my journey made me all the more thankful that I said yes to doing the NYC marathon for the IM ABLE Foundation on November 4th. And that by doing that, I’m giving others the opportunity to overcome obstacles that they face in life.

.

.

So today, (on my birthday when I wrote this) I’m feeling all reflective, thankful and grateful. So I might have a down day here and there, that’s okay and that is normal, but overall
my life freaking rocks!

I don’t like asking for money, but I really, really want to help IM ABLE do what they do best… provide resources to help individuals with disabilities overcome obstacles and be as active as they want to be, so they also have more rocking days than down days.

Would you please consider donating to IM ABLE?
And when you give at least $26, I will give a gift to you!
I’ll send you an autographed copy of BECAUSE I CAN.

Click here for all the details. 

Thank you very much!