This Run's For You

I wrote most of this blog on Sunday after my weekly long (relative term) run.  Throughout it, I used the term “friends and family.”  Last night, I unexpectedly found myself at home surrounded by a number of friends and as I looked around my dining room table at these people talking and laughing, I realized there is no point for me to distinguish between friends and family.  They are one in the same.  My friends are truly an extraordinary group of people.  Just like my biological family, these people have shown me unending kindness, support, and unconditional love.  They’ve also held my hair before.  So, you know they’re special.  I remember having a conversation with one said friend after she moved away and she told me, “I really expected to find another group of friends like this one.  I knew it would be hard and we’d have to put some effort in, but I really thought we’d fall into another circle of friends like we had here.”  And then she said what I had been taking for granted for years and what has stuck with me since, “J.J. it turns out, there aren’t just other circles of friends like this one.  This is special.”  So, with that in mind, I edited the blog to replace “friends and family,” with “Loved Ones.”

First of all, it's impossible to take a selfie and make the heart sign.  But it's appropriate because this run was for my Loved Ones and they are the other half of my heart.

This morning I ran for my Loved Ones.  I carried each of them in my heart and in my mind as I ran and they carried my feet along the path.  I spent a lot of time thinking about some specific Loved Ones while I ran.  Those Loved Ones have recently been dealt pretty crappy hands in the health department.  They have been given news and illnesses that you never want a Loved One to face.  I thought a lot about how for granted we take the health our Loved Ones.  I thought of all of the things I have ever wished for my Loved Ones: successful job interviews, good relationships, career advancement, expanding families, overall happiness.  What I realized was that I had been missing what matters most, their health.  At the very core of everything what I wish for my Loved Ones is health. 

So, I took to the trails and I ran for them.  I ran for all of my Loved Ones who just aren’t up for the long run right now.  I ran for my Loved Ones who need to give their bodies and their minds the rest they need to heal.  I ran because I could and I because I know when the day comes that I need it, they will pick up and run for me.  They will carry me in their hearts and in their minds and they will take over the run for me.  I ran for them because if I could, I would gladly give them my healthy body to use, but since I can’t, I will use my healthy body to honor them.  I will no longer take for granted the importance of my health and I will no longer take for granted the importance of the health of my Loved Ones.  I will be grateful for their presence in my life and I will make my gratitude known to the world. 

 

And I will run for all of you too.  If life has dealt you a crappy health hand you just can’t face the long run right now, don’t sweat it.  Kick your feet back and take the break you need.  I’ve got this one covered for you.   

Grateful for this healthy body and wishing the same for all of you.