As many of you know, I have been training the past 3 months for an epic Grand Canyon hike with the amazing Project Athena Foundation. We were going to be hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim, 40+ miles, all in 2 days. Sadly, I was not able to make the trek with them. After a long 8 hour training hike a few weeks ago, my foot was killing me. I was hoping it was just sore and tried to stay off of it as much as possible; I gave it a week hoping it would turn around. I think in the back of my mind I knew something was wrong, but I knew what acknowledging that would mean...me not going. My foot was incredibly swollen and as the week went on, I knew it wasn't soreness I was feeling, it was pain. Sharp, bad, always there, pain. Turns out I tore my plantar fascia along with the hallucis longus tendon (which sounds like something out of a Harry Potter book). So, no Grand Canyon for me.
I'm not going to lie, I was pretty devastated when I got back from the hospital that day on crutches. Months of training capped off with this injury 5 days before I left just killed me! I moped and sulked most of the day, but found myself to be in an okay mood by the evening time. I don't know what else to say other than I just sort of got over it. To put it bluntly, I've had cancer...not much fazes me anymore. Doctors have literally sawed out a quarter of my mouth, so in the grand scheme of things, this really isn't a big deal. Don't get me wrong, it sucks and I am pissed! But it's nothing to let ruin my day. My life is pretty damn good and the Grand Canyon isn't going anywhere. If you know me at all, you know how incredibly competitive I am, this just makes it personal now and I am fired up! I WANT that Canyon and I WILL complete it in its entirety! It just wasn't my time last weekend.
Ahhh life, always giving us opportunities to learn and grow...isn't it grand? --not always easy to see it that way, that's for sure, but I do believe that statement to be true.
It's easy to be feeling good and appreciating life when things are going right. The real test is when things go wrong and life throws you that inevitable curve ball...how do you respond then? Over the last few years I've painfully learned to roll with the punches. I have been forced to learn some life lessons, all of which I am incredibly grateful for. I have learned to trust the timing of my life.
I love this quote by Gilda Radner and it seems quite fitting for this post and for just life in general...
"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity."
Always remember...Be thankful. Everyday
