Learn from setbacks. Celebrate milestones.

I was writing a journal entry the other day and came to a cool realization. Today, October 1st, 2011 is a milestone for me. I decided that when today came, I'd be sure to write a blog entry to remind myself of how far I've come. So here I am! One year ago today, on October 1st, 2010, I had surgery on both of my legs. My legs were wrapped tight in bandages for weeks to follow. I slowly got to remove bandages until I was bandage free by the end of November. Recovery was ongoing. At first, I joked that I had "mummy legs" as I was wrapped all the way from the groin down to the ankle on each leg. The cartoon on the left was my Facebook profile photo for a while, as it playfully depicted how I felt. Inside I felt antsy and determined to get out running again. It took a while before I was able to. I looked ahead knowing that 2011 had to be positive. All the work I put into regaining my health would pay off. The leg surgery was just the final step I needed to take to get there.

The neat thing is that now, today being October 1st, 2011, I'm preparing to run the biggest race I've done in 7 years. One week tomorrow, on October 9th, 2011, I'll be running the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Half Marathon. I only realized recently that this race is in celebration of yet another milestone - my 'new legs'! 

So today I feel very grateful. Well, I'm often very grateful, but today, I need to articulate 'out loud' my gratitude that I have my health again, and that my legs can do what they do. They not only carry me everywhere I go, but they carry me well. Every day they look different as my scars fade and the muscles tone. I'm no longer ashamed to wear shorts or skirts that hit above the knee. I feel good about my legs and my legs help me to feel good. And I am so grateful at their ability to work almost on auto-pilot as I run longer and longer distances. Thank you! I'm excited for what we'll accomplish at next week's race.

So while life in these last few months have thrown at me more than a few setbacks, I also know I have a lot to be proud of, and a lot to be grateful for. That's certainly worth celebrating.