a different kind of perfect

i'm a mom...on a mission...to enjoy life everyday...appreciate the little moments...try not to get so easily annoyed...raise my kids with a faith legacy that leads them to continue to be amazing people...and to make my husband feel as special as he makes me feel.

What is Cystic Fibrosis?

CF is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30k children and adults in the US (70k worldwide). A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that both clogs the lungs and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food. [www.cff.org]

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Once a year we're shufflin'

Today, we had a beautiful sunshine-y morning for a run through the streets of Chicago. Ten years ago we ran our first Shamrock Shuffle 8K and it's the one race we try hard to run each year.  We run it with enthusiasm (well at least Jim does) and vigor and absolutely love the feeling afterwards. Jim ran 9 out of the last 10 years, me...well, a few less.  To be honest, I frequently complain about running, always choosing to never have time for it, always making an excuse why I can't fit it in but I so enjoy how great of a feeling of accomplishment it is when I'm done.  And believe it or not, it was actually fun today.   Although not easy.  I don't recommend the training for an 8K in 20 days and I don't recommend a few glasses of vino the night before a race so my goal this morning wasn't to set a PR but to actually run the entire 5 miles.  After the earbuds fell out and got tangled right before mile 1, I wasn't sure I was going to make all 5 but mile marker 2 and 3 came and I was quite proud of my endurance.  I even managed to drink a few sips of water without stopping or spilling it entirely on my face.  At about 3.5 miles in though, I almost stopped....I was talking myself out of it.  I could only repeat I can do all things through Him who gives me strength so many times.  But low and behold, right as I was about to give in, there was a spectator on the sidelines that looked right at me, noticed my shirt and yelled "go team CF, you're doing great!"  I wanted to cry. So many thoughts ran through my head:

You're so right. I.AM.DOING.GREAT!
I can do this. 
I have the ability to run, why would I choose to give in?
I'm in the middle of it, more than halfway done, it's not that much longer.
If Dean can deal with limited lung function on a daily basis, why can't I deal with the "pain" for 5 miles? 
What would Jim think if he saw me walking (haha...)

So I kept going.  I did it for all of my kids so they know how important it is to keep your body healthy...after all it is the "most magnificent machine you'll ever be given...take care of it" (per karyn). 

So I kept going.  I did it for Jim, so he'd be proud of me.

So I kept going.  I did it for me, so I could be proud of me.

So I kept going and I finally realized that all throughout our lives, even the simplest of things, the kindness of those we know and love and that of those we don't know are our motivators, our little pieces of gold in this life, our angels, to keep us going.

Thanks to O's for watching the kiddos while we enjoyed our night in the city and our running day, to Jim for the encouragement, the love and the laughs when my training doesn't quite live up to yours (and for setting your PR today - what motivation for 2013), to our kids for giving me a reason to take care of myself and finally to that random lady on the street for helping me to keep going for the last 1.5 miles - you're all a little piece of gold from above.


Save the date...come out and join us on Saturday May 19th in Orland Park for our Great Strides walk/picnic!  For more details and to help us reach our goal, visit:  http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/JimandErinBurns

we both set a PR at this race!




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