Of Marathons, BC, and Big Toes

Today I am grateful for some good rest and for peanut butter and jelly on toast.

October is a month I have always appreciated because it is in the heart of my favorite season of fall.
It is also the month in which my dad died, so I think of him.  

And I also think of marathons and breast cancer awareness. My husband Darcy and I have run more of our marathons in this month than any other.  There are several reasons why it is a popular time for a 26.2 running event. There's a good chance the weather will be neither too hot nor too cold. And it allows for ample training time in daylight hours in the previous months. 

I love the excitement and anticipation in the weeks and days before the marathon, and this year we are heading to a destination we have always wanted to visit, which adds to the excitement.

It is also already the 10th of the month some call "Pinktober" because of the flood of pink in the name of breast cancer awareness. All I seem to have become more aware of is that, in many ways, the pink really doesn't help the cause much. But I will save that for another post.

Today's post winds down with a real pain in the big toe. My right big toe to be exact. I already have a bunion on that foot, but that has been manageable. On Tuesday that toe  started to get tender and hurt. I didn't recall doing anything to it though. It got worse by Wed. and looked infected. I was concerned because our marathon is next weekend. I tried to get in to our clinic, but had to wait until Thursday evening. They lanced it, cleaned it out, and it is feeling much better.

There was a bit of that "why now, why me" and "one darn thing after another." Gratitude practice teaches me to keep things in perspective. It could have been much worse.

It was a literal pain, but also signified the figurative pain of overdoing and letting resentments build up, which had been happening particularly regarding some aspects of my job. Release them. Air it out. Keep calm.

Signing off from a place of mindful presence this morning.


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