Sneakers and Wine

I set out on a run this morning, pre sunrise.  I was doing this shorter loop on my own for the first time and truth be told, I wasn’t exactly sure which way I was going.  I knew where the run started and ended and hoped if I could figure out the stuff in between and find my way, I’d be running over the bridge across the creek just as the sun was rising.  I loved this particular part of this loop on this run,  I always say I feel like I’m on this beautiful  summer beach vacation in this picture perfect New England town and forget how cold it is for just a few moments as I’m running down the hill towards the beach. I parked my car at the beach, the sky was purple and pink, and right then I was grateful I didn’t wait for the sun to rise fully in the sky  because this sky was its own unique spectacular.   I started running and came to a hill I’ve grown to love and know well.  It has a deceiving incline as it winds its way along the hil...

Last night while I was out with friends, there was a woman who was sitting at the bar she didn’t seem alone at first glance but she was. She was dressed well and appeared put together. Not long after our group’s arrival she briefly interacted with a couple people  from our group and went back to her seat. Not too long after that interaction, I watched as she made her way to the door. I saw her feet stumble and her knees flex and knew she was going to fall. But there was nothing I could do from where I was standing to stop it. And she did, she fell backwards between the tables and smashed her head against the wall. I watched, frozen, seeing her fall and realizing she really was alone. The staff went to help her and made sure she didn’t drive home. I couldn’t stop watching. I saw her pain. I KNEW her pain. I didn’t know her story but I recognized the pain I knew so well. I had defined my life and carried the weight of that darkness, pain, and loneliness for a decade. But I was fro...

A few weeks ago my younger sister sent me a card for my 40th birthday.  In it she wrote how much she admired my ability to laugh and smile through every obstacle I faced in life and move past it.  She said she never forgot the advice I gave her many many years ago when we were just children and how relevant it is for life.  It was something I had long forgotten I had told her, yet still today so relevant and the inspiration for my latest post.   As an OT I now understand what a sensory disaster I was as a child.  As a toddler, I climbed our living room stone fireplace to the top of our cathedral ceiling, nearly giving my mother a heart attack.  As a child I was usually doing cart wheels or hanging upside down from the monkey bars on my swing set. or tying blankets between the caddy cornered bed posts in my room to make myself an indoor swing.   I couldn’t stop moving or being upside down. So it was no surprise I got a thrill from a good roller coa...