Come Out and Play - Summer Rain

There is magic in the rain. Shortly after being diagnosed with post polio syndrome in December of 2006 I had a dream. I took off my brace and went outside and danced barefoot in the rain a la Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain. When I awoke, I wrote the poem:


Come Out And Play
Arms flung open wide, dancing in the rain
Pure abiding joy to feel alive again.
Healing tears fall and blend in God's puddle
No time to sit in a corner and huddle.
All the old rules driven by fears
Washed away now by God's loving tears
The imprint Dad left no longer remains
Rain washes away all of the stains.
Baptized with Love, Truth lights my way
The sun shines through on this rainy day.
Splashing and laughing, my heart opens wide
Embracing and flowing, I'm one with the tide.
God takes my hand - release the old way
BATHE IN MY GLORY-COME OUT AND PLAY!



Last night my system worked through and released long held memories in my body. I breathed. I meditated. I reminded myself that they are only feelings and will pass. I affirmed that I am healing. I poured sweat and felt nauseous. I held steady and fell back to sleep but when I woke up at around 6:30 after Tom returned from his run, I felt tired.

I was going to stay in bed but then reminded myself of my new healing mantra, "I have all the energy I need to do what it is I choose and want to do." I meditated a little longer and had breakfast with Tom.

The skies got darker and the rain started to fall. The forecast was for rain all day today so I decided it was better to get out now and get my run in since I was up and had fueled for my run. There was a strong pull to go back to bed and pull the covers over my head but I knew that would not serve me.

One lap around the Reservoir. It was drizzling. Great I thought to myself. I'll be able to get this in no problem.

The sky grew darker, the rains intensified. I picked up my pace.

A bolt of lightning. A clap of thunder. More lightning and thumder boomers.

I was halfway around my 2nd lap. Open water. Trees. Me being soaked from head to feet. Lightning. Not a great combination. However, it was a great pacer.

I took a shortcut up the steep hill and arrived safely home completing about 2.5 miles with a negative 1'1" split for the second mile.

I felt a sense of joy and laughter soaking in the moments of running in the thunderstorm feeling One with all that is. I had on a racer back top and shorts. I was baptized with new life. I felt energized and renewed.

The skies opened and became dark and angry and then just as quickly as the storm moved in, it passed and the sun came out.

I went out and ran one more mile to complete my miles for the day.

Even though my body felt sluggish and hungover from last night's working through of whatever needed to be released, I didn't let that stop me from going out and playing in the summer rain. And now I can bask in the glorious sunshine and crystal clear blue skies being serenaded by the birds who are also celebrating the passing of the storm.






"Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility" is now available on Amazon.

"Wait, I have one more goal," Mary McManus told her personal trainer in February of 2008 shortly after coming out of her toe up leg brace. "I want to run the Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab Hospital." Mary traded in her polio shoes for running shoes and embarked on the journey of a lifetime. Mary McManus was at the height of her career as a VA social worker when she was told by her team at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital’s International Rehab Center for Polio in December of 2006 that she needed to quit her job if she had any hope of preventing the progression of post polio syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. In “Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility” Mary takes you on her seven year healing odyssey as a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma from her diagnosis, to taking a leap of faith to leave her award winning career at the VA to heal her life and follow her passion as a poet and writer. You’ll experience her trials, tribulations and triumphs as she trains for and crosses the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and discovers the opportunity for healing in the wake of new trauma: the suicide of her nephew in 2011, and the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. This is Mary's journey of coming home to her human form free from the influences of the ghastly ghostly invaders who had invaded her sacred earthly home. Her memoir includes journals and blog posts from her seven year healing odyssey. This is her journey of transformation and her message of healing, hope and possibility.

I donate 50% of royalty payments through on line sales to The One Fund to help Boston Marathon survivors and their families. Copies are also available at Brookline Marathon Sports. $5 of each book sold at Marathon Sports is donated to The One Fund.