As I sit down to write, I can hardly believe it’s been two months since my last post. I’ve been busy with work, and I recently started an old pastime back up again. Roughly five decades ago, I started running in junior high. It was something I was pretty good at and that I grew to truly love. In fact, leaving high school, I was still competing in 5K and 10K races. I had a goal of wanting to run a marathon by the time I was 30.

Well, life started to happen, and that aspiration soon faded away as I traded my running shoes for the daily running after my children. I wouldn’t change a thing, as with each child and each new season, my goals became theirs… watching them work hard, practice, and leave it all on the court or field.

The one thing that always made me a little sad was I never had a “runner.” My youngest showed some interest, but she chose to run just to run, rarely for competition. Yet, a few years back, early in her marriage, when her husband was deployed, my oldest daughter would pull on a pair of running shoes and never look back. She did well, adapting to the running world after spending most of her life on a volleyball court or throwing in track.

It would be her that would run a marathon before she was 30, and today she has run a handful of full marathons and three times as many half marathons under her belt. Her younger sister, my middle daughter, even joined her for one. When she talks about it, running, I can hear in her voice that she loves it as much as I do.

After years of back issues because of an injury, it was during the pandemic, in early 2020, that I started being mindful of my health once again. My work provided us with three free months of the Headspace app, and I found meditation, which led to yoga, which got me back outside and walking. You can ask any of my girls and one particular friend, and they will all tell you that I am a fast walker. In fact, I have to be super conscious of how fast I am walking with them, because I get carried away.

So when I started walking, I also started increasing my pace, and I got pretty darn fast. In fact, I was “walking” an 11-12 min/mile! But because of issues with my back and knees, I just wasn’t able to actually run. Then I got sick, and I was never the same. I battled COVID twice and had shortness of breath issues, and so I stopped walking at any pace.

Then, about 13 months ago, when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, everything changed. (I also have fibromyalgia, and the year or so leading up to last March, I just believed my symptoms were out of control.) But a series of unfortunate events led me to a new GP, and I am forever grateful. Just a few weeks into taking medication, I was thinking, “What the heck, this is what it feels like to NOT feel like crap all the time.”

Around the same time, I also started seeing a new chiropractor, one that was familiar with fibromyalgia, and we developed a plan of attack to get my entire system back in alignment. He uses chiropractic measures in conjunction with auricular acupuncture, and that too became game-changing!!

So, in a nutshell, I was becoming a whole new person, healthy and strong. One that no longer had to tell the grands, “Nana can’t do that.” I could play with them, even down on the floor, and snuggle them close to carry them up the stairs at bedtime.

Now don’t get me wrong, my knees are still not 100%, but with compression sleeves, I have found that feeling once again, the one I used to get when I would go on a 5-6 mile run out on an old country road. The peace and serenity that came when I just connected to the sound of my feet on the gravel. Today, I have added headphones, canceling out the outside world, so it is quiet enough to hear the thoughts that might come to the forefront of my mind.

So with a handful of miles I put in these past few weeks, I was prepared to participate in my first 5K in a couple of decades. I was fortunate to be a part of our work’s team for the 45th Corporate Cup for the American Lung Association. Sunday morning I was excited and ready for the challenge once again, but it was a bit chilly, and my left knee was not sure about the whole “running” concept, so with my “Strong, Steady, I’ve Got This” playlist, I was still ready to attack the race head-on. So in my brisk walk fashion, I competed. I had set a goal of 45 mins; I came in at just over 43 minutes, with 43:09 being my final time. And I was 4th in my age division, just missing a medal!!

It couldn’t have gone better, and during the race I remembered how much I love to run, and while I will never be as fast as I was, I can still be competitive and, in doing so, stay healthy and strong. I can once again do something I truly enjoy and reap the benefits it brings into my life.

As I think about my life today, my family, and especially my grands. I am drawn to holding close how happy and blessed I am. That today, I can continue to be there for them, as well as many years down the road. Joining them in silent anticipation as they try new things and grow in their strength and ability. Cheering them on just like I did their parents not so long ago…

I used to say that my greatest joys were my children, but I have found an even sweeter joy in the five little faces that smile when I say their names and run to me, saying, “Nana, Nana.” Their hugs are always the best, especially when they hold tight a little longer than me. While being around all of our family is not too often a silent occasion anymore, which is OK, there are always silent moments that I can steal away.

A sweet little hug or kiss, just because. Finding just the right spot to curl up with a grand or two and read their favorite story. Watching as the cousins all play together, creating friendships for the rest of their lives. Seeing the wonderful parents my children have become. I will often say, “I am blessed,” because I most certainly am. I am blessed by my entire family, because all four of my children and the five grandchildren have given me so much in my life. Grateful, thankful, and blessed—this Nana couldn’t ask for more.