Thumbs Up

Perseverance over defeat.  Fall down seven times, get up eight.  These are two awesome quotes that are boldly written on one of my favorite running shirts.  I love wearing it.  It inspires me the second I put it on.  I wore it running this morning.  It seemed like it was going to be a great morning for a run.  I had my inspirational shirt on.  The weather was nice and cool.  It just felt like a good morning to run.  However, about a block into it I wanted to stop.  I don't know why, I just didn't feel it this morning.  I kept telling myself, 'give it a mile, you'll get into it.'  But that wasn't working.  I wanted to stop.  I wanted to go back home and curl up in bed (however, I knew that wasn't going to happen since Fussy Pants was screaming her head off when I left).  So I walked a block.  As I was approaching a busy street, I told myself to get after it.  There's no way I wanted to be caught walking on a busy street.  So I turned up my i-pod a little louder and tried once again.  The past few days have been particularly difficult at our house.  My poor husband is having this weird stomach issue.  Piper isn't feeling well.  Brooks is definitely testing the waters.  And Fussy Pants has been just that.  Fussy.  So I knew if I didn't run this morning, my day would stink.  Running makes me a better person.  For about 40 minutes I am not a mom, wife, cook, babysitter, maid, dishwasher or triage nurse.  I am a runner.  But this morning I did not feel like a runner.  I felt like a mom who had just had a kid plodding along trying to shed her baby weight.  So I started to pray.  I prayed for a sign that I could make it.  Make it through what, I wasn't sure.  Make it through the run.  Make it through the day.  I just wanted to make it.  That's when I saw this couple walking with their two dogs.  They looked a little blue collar.  She was fairly overweight.  She had brown hair pulled back with a grey tank top on.  I'm not sure she had all her teeth.  He was wearing a black, loosely fitted tank top with tattoos on his arm.  He had on jeans and workmen boots.  He reminded me of Sgt. Dan in the movie Forest Gump.  He was limping.  It was evident that he had been in some type of accident.  I thought maybe he was a war veteran.  As I approached them, I could see him looking at my shirt.  Reading it.  'Perseverance over defeat' it said.  I smiled and said hello.  He looked at me, looked at my shirt again and gave me a thumbs up.  This may sound crazy, but that thumbs up turned it around for me.  It was like we had a connection.  He was saying 'heck yeah!' to my shirt.  To me.  It was so inspiring.  It was evident that he had persevered over something.  If he could do it, so could I.  His little thumbs up motivated me to have a pretty good run this morning.  It was the sign I needed.  I feel like I've been doing a lot of falling lately.  Fall down seven times, get up eight.  I'm back up now.  Thumbs up.