Strength Within

Shortly after the Boston bombing, a young man in our small town of about 1500, left a party intoxicated, broke into our beloved elementary school, vandalized, and lit several fires.  The front part of the school, including the office, library, and several classrooms, were destroyed.  Smoke damage spread throughout.  Within a week, the school employees, and community volunteers, had a temporary school, grades K-4 up and operational in an abandoned girl's scout camp not far from our home.  "Panther Camp" is where these 600+ children got to spend their remaining 24 days of school to meet the state's quota for the year.  Challenges, yes, but they overcame.

We have a strong community.

Not long after that, two wonderfully talented teens who attended the high school, one in each of my high-school-aged sons' grades, took their own lives by jumping off a bridge in Minneapolis.  No one understood why.  They were positive, well liked, and great kids.  With these two deaths, there had been a total of three suicides in the SCC school district, two of which were seniors.  Loosing the first boy was hard enough.  Loosing the second two, boy and girl...well, the students here were faced with something some of us never have to in our whole lifetime.  As a district, we tried to move forward, putting the past behind.  As individuals, prayer became routine and comforting.  I saw these kids leaning on each other, trying to smile and focus on their future.  These kids endured like no other.

We have strong youth.

About 6 weeks ago, I was told I had a clot in my leg, making it the 4th DVT (deep vein thrombosis) I've had.  I ate too much salad within a week, I was told...Go figure, I was trying to eat healthy and it darn near killed me.  (FYI-green leafy vege's are loaded with vitamin K, a clotting factor) It's alright, I've been dealing with this issue for 18 years.  Running has been not only good exercise, but necessary to keep my blood flowing.  However, due to the lack of well functioning veins in my left leg, it is larger than my right.  This past training session, I easily noticed the weight difference as well.  The longer I ran, the heavier it got.  I'm not giving up.  Running is a part of who I am.  A good pair of compression socks goes a long way!  I know there are others out there in the running community who have overcome physical hurdles to be able to be out there putting one foot in front of the other just to cross that finish line. Hats off to you!

We have strong determination.

With all the bad things happening around us, keep enduring, keep putting your foot in front of the other.  I can guarantee that the finish line will be worth it!