Lemonade

Over the past few weeks we have discovered a new home away from home.  A place where as soon as we walk in the door people greet us with a smile and call us by name.  If all three of us don’t walk through the door the question is posed. . . “Where is Chanelle?” or “Where is Charlie?”  We feel so comfortable, in fact, we lounge as if we are on our couch at home and even remove our socks and shoes. 

Ahhhh, physical therapy. 

This week they even let me run a mile.  I was pumped as I got on the treadmill. . . my first run in 9 weeks! It was after that mile that it was decided.   

You’re Fired!

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t quite that dramatic, but it was obvious that the hours I have spent with my very wonderful and caring physical therapists was not helping my poor injured foot.  They sent me packing.

What’s next?  My guess is surgery.  More time off.  More waiting.  Anticipating.

Someone asked me today. . . “How’s your foot?  Are you running yet?”

My response?  “No, not yet, but it’s okay–I’ve got it in perspective.”
And can I just say. . . I do, I really, really, do.

Don’t get me wrong. . .I can not wait until the day when I will put on my faithful New Balance shoes and hit the start button on my Ironman watch.  I  look forward to the quiet of the early morning hours and the way the breeze hits my face when I walk out the door.  I anticipate the chill in my lungs and the ache in my body that will result from this time on the sidelines.  It will be a gloriously painful day. . . and I will be ready for it. 

But I’m a turn a lemon into lemonade kind of girl and I am drinking this experience up.  Recognizing that there are more passions raging inside my body than I ever knew because my mind was always on that next mile.  Realizing that in the long run a little time off to heal is nothing if I’m going to be running for the rest of my life. 

And so it goes. Challenges in every direction, but oh so many joys.  So  I continue to work on the lemonade as I seek to strike that perfect balance between sweet and sour.  . . .

And maybe it will never be perfect.  Some days may always be a little sweeter. . . while others are more sour.   But what I am finding is that both the sweet and the sour have their purpose.  If I chose to see it, both are good and necessary.  So I will drink it up and be thankful for both, because really, that is life.