In Praise of . . . Endorphins

Today my gratitude list was created as I ran in the early morning heat and humidity:

-the beauty of the sun and clouds in combination
-a welcome breeze when I turned a corner
-one of my absolute favorite songs coming on the radio
          (Johnny Nash's version of "I Can See Clearly Now")
-our dog Oliver making a beeline for a squirrel he was never going to catch
-a cooling flow of air up my shirt and across my flat chest
         (The temperature is near 80 degrees and the dew point over 70 degrees.)

And that was all in a little over 30 minutes. I love endorphins and I love what they do for me. Yesterday morning I was feeling irritable and discontented. My son and I went out to do a little "training" and play some catch. It set me back on track and I sweated away the negative feelings and went on to have a good day.

A note about the flat chest. One of the reasons I opted to not have breast reconstruction after surgeries to remove cancer is because I didn't want further surgeries and scarring that could hinder my running. There is an advantage to just donning a shirt and heading out the door on a morning like this. Before cancer, my running bras and I would have had a bit of a tussle. I still miss my breasts at times, but I don't miss that tussle.

Endorphins are free and very effective. Manufacture some for yourself today.