Be Grateful

Yeah, this is my fourth post today. Whatever. I need to sit and type this before the adrenaline rush wears off.


I ran a lot tonight.
A lot a lot.

4.3 miles of hills, in the rain, with excellent company. It was fantastic.

Why does it have to get dark so early? It sucks.
But running in the rain is awesome, especially with a friend.

I came home so energetic that I didn't know what to do, so after we put the girls to bed I got on the treadmill and just started running again. I thought my excess energy would burn off quickly, but it didn't, so I just kept running (insert Forest Gump image here). I kept waiting to get tired, but I just never really did.

I had an interesting conversation yesterday, that I haven't been able to shake. Mostly because what was said to me really hurt my feelings. Tonight, I decided I would "run it off" and move on. I ran and ran and ran until I couldn't think about it anymore. Even after a hilly 4 mile run in the rain, I still ran on that stupid treadmill for an uninterrupted 1 hour and 18 mintues, gaining speed with each mile, just to prove that I could do it, and that I could do it with ease.

And I did. With ease.

I may be a slow runner, but I ran well over 10 miles tonight, I felt fantastic the whole time, and I don't even care anymore about that conversation from yesterday that I was so worked up over, earlier today. And that is why I run. I get to visit with great friends, and I get endorphines from pushing myself to do something difficult. Both of those things make me happy. And when I'm finished, I get to eat a lot of Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake, (guilt free) and that makes me happy, too. Running is excellent therapy. I am grateful for my husband, who can tell when I need a little "therapy session", and happily takes over care of our children so I can sneak away for an hour and come back a better person.

At the Halloween 5k, a little girl (maybe 7 or 8 yrs old?) with Cerebral Palsy participated in the 1 mile fun run. Her parents were by her side, supporting her through the race, and by the end, they were holding her onto her walker and literally helping her to not fall over with every single step that she took toward the finish line. You could feel her struggle as she moved forward, looking totally exhausted. But, I wish I had a photo of her (and her family) as she finished.

Yes. I cried. That little girl is amazing. I've been thinking about her a lot since the weekend, too. Her challenges are physical, so they are obvious to everyone. She serves as a reminder to me that everyone has challenges that they are dealing with. One of mine was buzzed in that conversation yesterday, and it stung. This month, I will try to be more sensitive and careful to remember that just because I can't see someone's walker, braced legs, or support system to help her with her struggle toward her finish line, certainly doesn't mean that challenges don't exist for her, or that she doesn't have a need for aid.

On Day 1 of this Month of Gratitude, I'm grateful for my health. I am grateful I had the physical ability to run all those miles tonight. I'm grateful for my legs. They are blindingly white, unsexy, currently pretty hairy, and they are not as fast as I'd like them to be.

But they are as strong as my will is stubborn, and tonight, my legs served me well to get me to my finish line and get over something that I just needed to let go of.
I'm grateful for that.