Tuesday, February 10, 2009

One Year Later - from Polio Shoes to Running Shoes

Such excitement filled room 324 of Brookline High School as Perfect Pitch and the Testostatones filed in to meet me in preparation for the March 14th An Evening of A Capella Music to Benefit Spaulding Rehab's Team McManus. They are thrilled to have the opportunity to perform before what we know will be a packed house and then to receive a workshop from one of their revered a capella groups, Ball In The House. They took tickets to sell, will put up the posters and help with publicity. One of the members of Perfect Pitch writes for the student newspaper and she is going to work on getting a feature put in the BHS newspaper. I told them I would talk with the headmaster, the infamous 'Dr Bob' as he likes to be called about getting the word out through his media contacts. With school vacation and a benefit concert on the horizon, the kids were pumped to say the least - and the energy was infectious.

As I walked the halls of Brookline High to get to a meeting with an administrator to do the paperwork for the concert, I bumped into one of my kids' teachers. She said she must come to the concert and would love to see the twins. I went into the Copy Center where my daughter worked and reconnected with the teacher in charge. I was even inspired to ask him if he will print the programs and he said a resounding yes. So ticket sales are on their way, the kids are so excited, Ball In The House is excited and it's all coming together.

After this high energy experience, it was time for my training run. It was 36 degrees and cloudy with a headwind. I do not need any additional hill training after twice around Heart Break Hill on our long run last Saturday so decided to do a tempo run up to Winchester Street and back. Note to self - always zip up the jacket pocket - my cell phone flipped out when I went to get my water under my jacket. I realized it after my iPod fell out twice - God was telling me I had lost something else but I was so in the zone with my run that it wasn't until several blocks later that I realized my cell phone was no longer there. Oh well, I decided that I would run the same route back and find it - but it was nowhere to be found. I was exhilarated with the pace I was keeping; I also learned that I should carry gel or a clementine with me if I am running at an odd time (it was early afternoon and I had a piece of toast and clementine as a snack before the run) but no worries, I made it through just fine and even sprinted for the last five minutes. When I got home, my cell phone had not been left on the table as I'd hoped so God said, 'call it'. And a lovely lady answered the phone. Fortunately, she lives only ten minutes away from where I live. She told me that she could not answer the door because it was tied into her phone line which was tied into her computer system and she was upgrading her system so did I have another cell phone to call her on and she'll come downstairs....I grabbed one in the closet and it went on just fine but when I got to her condo building, I realized that there was no service on it. So, still sweaty and smelly from my run and R E A L L Y hungry by now, I set out to find someone who had a cell phone to use. Several dog walkers walked by but they did not have their phones. The sanitation truck that blocked traffic for what seemed like forever (when you're hungry and sweaty it does seem like forever) was my salvation as one of the workers graciously lent me his cell phone. So all's well that ends well and I finally ate and stretched and showered - all in God's time - all in God's plan.

I saw on a blog post from a Just Finish friend that there are only 68 days left until the Boston Marathon. How is this possible? It was a year ago when I said to Janine, "I want to run the Race for Rehab - the Boston Marathon for Spaulding" and I bought my first pair of running shoes. The excitement is building and I am letting in the joy of each and every moment trusting that God is providing us with every thing we need - physically, mentally and spiritually - to succeed on this journey. I am so grateful that I said Yes when I felt God call me. I am so grateful that my family said Yes and are so loving and supportive. I am so grateful we have found strength and love and joy and are bringing together communities to celebrate the miracle of healing! My poetry brings so much joy to others and helps to inspire and heal. I am so blessed with my book of inspirational poetry and New World Greeting Cards www.newworldgreetings.com and I am so grateful to share these blessings with you.

For more information about our road to the Boston Marathon, check out www.firstgiving.com/teammcmanus & www.firstgiving.com/ballinthehouse.

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