How long will it last?

Well, now, there is a title that can apply to all sorts of things.  But for this post, it has only a few meanings...

As I went on my run today, I was a little off-put by the construction crews in the neighborhood.  They are re-laying the sewer lines in the township and have now, firmly landed on my street.  Today, surveyors were literally in my backyard, which is where I usually take off for my run.  A little wrinkle in my routine.

But, once I started moving, my knees let me know they didn't appreciate back to back run days.  I usually rotate day on, day off.  Then my mouth let me know I hadn't had enough fluids in the last day and the comfy couch reading part of my brain suggested I could read about running and that would suffice, wouldn't it? 

Yet the competitive part of my brain cheered me onward.

Why the narrative of all the different parts of my body all telling me to do things?  Because it these moments which make me think of all the mixed messages my sweet daughter Emma's brain must get and deal with all day long, every day of her life.  How confusing and stressful, how discouraging and scary it must be for her.  AND, how in spite of it all, she has such an amazingly happy disposition and finds joy through it all.

With all of Emma's neurological issues and all the conflicting messages her muscles and senses are firing off, she remains a happy, joyful child.  How amazing is that?  I can't even imagine how it must be for her to have all that conflict internally and then the external message we send her as we encourage her to work harder, achieve more, to try again, go further, take risks, leave her comfort zone.

Really, she is an astounding child.  With all she has achieved and continues to work on, it is truly remarkable. But to know through it all that she has and give such joy, well, that is nothing short of miraculous. 

As for me, my complaining parts won... I jipped my run my a mile and headed home.  I'm so glad Emma has more stick-to-it-ness than her mother!  But, hey... there was a cupcake waiting for me on the kitchen counter left over from Emma's Open House at school last night. 



And, let me tell you, THAT is a message I have a hard time not hearing.  ;)

~ Lynn