Inspiration...

Where do you get your inspiration? Your inspiration to do whatever you set your mind out to do. Do you draw it from your family? From your friends? God? Inspiration can come from so many places/people/things. I can tell you that I was overwhelmed this past weekend and inspired in a way that's really hard to put into words. But I'm going to try because it was amazing.

I ran two races this past weekend in Frederick, MD, the name for the series is the Nut Job. Very appropriate, considering it was the Twilight 5K on Saturday evening followed by a half marathon on Sunday. Check out the bling we got for running both races. It's official, I'm a nut job and have the medal to prove it:

On Saturday, prior to our 5K, they held a kids' fun run. There were children of all ages running this race.  I'm a huge proponent of kids' runs because not only do they get kids up and moving, but they also motivate kids to want to stay active. If they have parents that run, it motivates them to want to do the same. No one should be immune to fun and exercise. No one. No matter their race, creed, color, religious or political beliefs and especially any health issues they may have. I say this because we saw the most amazing, inspiring thing any of us had ever seen at the end of that kids' fun run.

As we watched children of all shapes, ages and sizes run across the finish line, one little boy caught all of our eyes, and we watched this little boy, who was about 2 or 3 years old, holding his dad's hand, and in the other hand, he held a white cane. The kind of cane a blind person uses. That's right, this little boy was blind, and yet, he was running a race. All five of us looked at one another and we all filled up with tears. There wasn't a dry eye among us. Our friend Sharon said it best: Good for his parents. Good for them for getting him out there at such a young age and showing him that he can do anything he sets his mind to do. We applauded as they ran across the finish line and his dad scooped him up in to his arms and the boy hugged him tightly.

Those parents are doing him such a great favor by not limiting him because of his blindness. They are showing him that blindness shouldn't keep him from participating in all the exciting things life has to offer, that he can go out and do things not because of his blindness but in spite of it.

So the next time someone tells you, "no, I can't do that", ask them why not? If a blind 3 year old can run a race, why can't you do something that's out of your box? That boy was my inspiration to run my best this weekend. And I'll think of him every I face a difficult challenge, because at least I can SEE that challenge ahead of me. He doesn't have that luxury. Just some special parents and some amazing determination.

Here's the crew of us, up in the grandstands, before we all started crying:

Denise, Me, Gina, Mindy and Sharon.