Running on Thanksgiving

 

Shortly after the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December of 2006, I began a gratitude practice. I wrote poetry about gratitude and kept a gratitude journal. On Thanksgiving Eve we read all the post-its from our gratitude jar that we started in January. We shared laughter and tears. What a great way to kick off the long holiday weekend. 

Tom and I got up early on Thanksgiving to get our miles in before breakfast. It was a spectacular morning and we expressed deep gratitude for the blessings in our lives; especially the gift of running. 

 

We had not done a before breakfast run in quite awhile since the seasons changed. I savored my late morning breakfast after putting in the turkey and starting the gravy. We gave thanks for our beautiful home, the bounty of food and the love of our family that is strong and resilient having weathered so many storms during the past year. There were hugs, tears, laughter and joy as we spent several hours around the dinner table.

 

We did early birthday celebrations since Autumn is on call during Christmas week. Michelle's birthday is December 15th.

The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed an after dinner walk through the neighborhood while Autumn and Ruth Anne shared childhood memories with Michelle.

On Friday, we went to Cape Cod to have a reunion with Tom's cousin Kathy. We used to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas afternoons at Kathy's house sharing dessert and quality family time. Since the pandemic, we realize how precious and fragile life can be. Despite going to the Cape for years, we had never been to the Cape Cod Canal where Kathy suggested we meet.

After breaking bread together and expressing our deepest gratitude that we were able to gather together in love, laughter and tears, Ruth Anne went for a run along the Cape Cod Canal.  We bathed in spectacular sunshine and temperatures warmer than usual for November.

Tom had to work on Saturday. Ruth Anne partnered with me for a fabulous 5K as I count down to the Bermuda Triangle Challenge 10K. It was our first run of the season where we were greeted with a blast of cold air when we opened the door! I earned the Frosty Badge from Garmin for doing a workout in below freezing temperatures. Ruth Anne shared her excitement with me for the Fast 5 and Tough Ten Mile Turkey Trot she was racing on Sunday. Her excitement was infectious. She would pick up the pace when she imagined how it was going to feel to run her favorite race again. I had to remind her that I was going into taper mode so we had to keep an eye on the pace. We ended up doing negative splits anyway. Ruth Anne was supportive and encouraging letting me know that she would be with us in spirit on Bermuda race day while she enjoys time in Nashville with her bestie from college.

Our 87 year old neighbor is the first one to put up outdoor decorations on the Friday after Thanksgiving:

It always gives us a boost during winter running and reminds us of the reason for the season.

We wrapped up our Thanksgiving weekend with Ruth Anne running one of our favorite races. The entry fee is 15 nonperishable food items to restock the food pantry in Marlboro, Mass. We ran the Tough Ten Mile Turkey Trot in 2008 when we were training for the 2009 Boston Marathon. Ruth Anne and Tom ran the race two more times. Ruth Anne and I reminisced about our time out on the course and I felt how strong and confident I felt navigating those tough ten miles. I expressed gratitude to my body for all it has given me during these past 17 years.  This year, they had a time limit for the ten miler but offered a five fast mile option. Ruth Anne trained hard during the three weeks leading up to the race; no easy feat since she was going through a lot of health challenges. We got up at 6:00am on Sunday to ensure plenty of time for pre-race "necessities" including making sure there was bathroom time. There was no traffic and we easily found our way to the race after many years. We dropped off our nonperishable items, took pre-race photos and stayed warm in the car.

Ruth Anne absolutely crushed those hills with an 11:00 minute/mile pace. What a thrill to be support crew and watch her finish strong! 

 

Our hearts swelled with gratitude for a perfect ending to a Thanksgiving weekend fueled by running and gratitude running on Thanksgiving!

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness,
Mary

Visit my website to be inspired by my journey. May it ignite a spark within you to go farther than you ever believed you could. Be sure to visit the News and Events Page with links to podcast interviews, speaking engagements and where you can find my incredibly inspirational story.

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What if today we were grateful for everything?

 

During this week last year, our oven stopped working. It's one of the essays in my newly released book, "Into the Light: Emerging From the 2020 Pandemic," which is how I know it was during this week last year. At first I panicked. It was two weeks before Thanksgiving. We were experiencing supply chain issues as I looked for a replacement oven believing the oven was over 10 years old. We initially couldn't get an appointment to see if it could be repaired. All worked out as a technician appointment "magically" opened up a week sooner than anticipated and it was an easy fix. The oven was only two years old and we were able to enroll in a Service Protection plan. I expressed heartfelt gratitude to the technician, the customer service representative who helped us with the Protection Plan and to the Universe.

Ever since the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, 16 years ago this December, I have practiced an attitude of gratitude. As I was loading our dishwasher on Thursday evening, I said out loud to no one, "I am so grateful I have a dishwasher." 

When I pushed the start button, nothing happened.

I checked to see if I had somehow blocked the doorway and moved dishes around.

Still nothing...

Tom was out running errands with Ruth Anne and he tried to start it when he got home.

Still nothing...

It was too late to get a dish drainer to empty the dishwasher and do the dishes. 

When we got up on Friday morning, I asked Ruth Anne if she would come to Target with me to get a dish drainer and do a little retail therapy for the holidays. Ruth Anne loves Target. Until recently, it's not been a place I've enjoyed shopping but since the pandemic, I  am so grateful to be able to go into a store and shop.

I knew we were going to go in for a dish drainer but come out with a full shopping cart because that's what happens at Target; very smart placement of items and layout of store! We had so much fun together making sure we remembered our dish drainer, choosing new Christmas decorations for home and the tree, and various other items that will bring enjoyment to Team McManus. 

When we got home, we emptied the dishwasher and had a dish washing party putting on our favorite music and feeling joy in the moment. I made the washing of the dishes a meditation feeling grateful for hot water, sight to be able to see what I was doing, that Ruth Anne and I are healthy and that we have abundance to be able to go to Target and shop with joy and ease.

The technician appointment is for next Thursday. I am focusing on a quick fix with replacing the control panel. Since the technician has the model and serial number and knows that it won't turn on, they will have the necessary part to install! 

If, however, we need a new dishwasher or it will take time to get replacement parts, we will share the joy of doing the Thanksgiving Dinner dishes together with my son and his wife. 

I learned wonderful soul lessons last year as we emerged from the pandemic. I did not panic or get upset when the dishwasher wouldn't start. I focused totally on an attitude of gratitude realizing how incredibly blessed and fortunate we are to even have a dishwasher, running hot water, food to put on plates that then need to be washed and most importantly of all a home and our health and well-being.

Just imagine how wonderful life can be if we are just grateful for everything!

From my heart to yours,
In health and wellness,
Mary

Be sure to visit my website at https://marymcmanus.com to learn about my journey to health and wellness in the wake of paralytic polio and trauma

Visit the News and Events tab to listen to my inspiring and uplifting interviews

My books to motivate, uplift and inspire you are available on Amazon

postscript: 11/17/2022

Pat, our favorite GE technician came right on time. He told us everything he was going to do to run diagnostics to rule in or rule out certain problems. I had such confidence in Pat's ability to repair our dishwasher that I did not do today's breakfast or lunch dishes!

As he worked his mojo, I had total confidence that he was going to be able to diagnose and repair the dishwasher today.

Sure enough, it was the control board. He had one on his truck!

He ran further diagnostics to make sure there were no other issues with the dishwasher and did a software update. We had been having an occasional issue with the dishwasher not completing its cycle so in the morning, the dishwasher had to be run again. The software update fixed the problem!

I told Pat he was in my book, and told him that it was just a year ago he came to fix our oven and 'save Thanksgiving.' He asked me the title of the book and I signed and handed him a copy of "Into the Light: Emerging From the 2020 Pandemic." I put a bookmark on the page with the essay about his visit last year. I also gave him a copy of the 'prequel', "Hope is a Garden: Poems and Essays From the 2020 Pandemic." He told me how much he loved to read and looked forward to reading them!

We chatted a bit more while he made sure everything was working in the dishwasher's cycle. He has worked as a GE Technician for 35 years. His parents live near him and are into their 80's. His mother still cooks Thanksgiving dinner and he loves going to his parents' house for the holiday. I shared with him how my son and his wife are coming for dinner and while we could have easily done dishes by hand, it's a blessing to have the dishwasher repaired. He gave us a senior citizen discount and the total cost of the repair saved us about $500 from what a new dishwasher would have cost and that doesn't include the cost of having the plumbers come to install a new one! 

The best part of the encounter, though, was being able to express heartfelt gratitude to Pat and for Pat, his expertise, his care for the work he does and his kind and gentle demeanor. We had the opportunity to get to know him a little better after many service calls he has made to repair our wall oven. I am so grateful he was the technician assigned to us today.

My gratitude in advance that the dishwasher would be fixed and expressing that confidence to the Universe by not doing today's dishes, created a wonderful encounter with a delightful positive outcome that we will be able to load our dishwasher after our Thanksgiving feast!

What if today YOU were grateful for everything that you have now and give thanks for blessings on their way. 

Emerging From the Pandemic: Halloween/Samhain 2021

 

Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or "darker-half" of the year. In the northern hemisphere it is held on 1 November but with celebrations beginning on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic day began and ended at sunset.

For the first time in over a week, the sun finally broke through the clouds here in New England. Clean up continued after the Nor'Easter that was classified as a hurricane at times. The Cape Cod Marathon Race Weekend was cancelled and emergency crews worked 24/7 to restore electricity yet there was still a feeling of joy and anticipation for Halloween.

Even before COVID, after our own children were grown, we would always ask the question, "Should we do Halloween this year?" Our neighborhood, as many neighborhoods tend to do, go through cycles of having younger children. We live near a school and families move in with younger children and leave once children are grown making room for younger families to move in again. The group of old homesteaders like Tom and me are rare these days. 

Halloween has never been one of my favorite holidays but experiencing it through the eyes of our twins was always a joy. I loved when they did trick or treat for UNICEF. 

This year, at the last minute we decided to have treats on hand and trusted, as Dr. Ingrid Katz noted in a boston.com article that Halloween is really quite a safe holiday.  

We received a last minute invitation from our neighbors to attend an outdoor party with pizza for the kids and 'adult beverages.' We politely declined as Tom and Ruth Anne are training for a marathon and did their long run. Their house abuts our property and the party overflowed into our yard. There were kids in costumes running around, shrieking with delight that they were able to celebrate Halloween this year as adults stood in close proximity to one another without masks socializing enjoying the opportunity to have a party. We sent out positive energy that everyone would remain safe and healthy.

Given the throngs of children and adults that were lining our street, we decided on a contactless Halloween this year. We hung the bag of treats from the railing on our porch and greeted the Trick or Treat'ers through our storm door reminding them to please take only one treat each. We were astounded by the numbers of children and adults out and about. Our treats were gone within an hour. We usually have left overs that we'd bring into work the next day.

This year's Halloween celebration was far more than the hunger for sweets; everyone is hungering for a return to rituals and celebrations without the pandemic. Yet the pandemic still hangs like a scepter over everyone. The White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, tested positive for COVID after family members tested positive and reported mild symptoms. She was unable to accompany the President to the G20 summit which is addressing climate change; another crisis happening in the world right now. 

One of my friends posted the above quote and image about Samhain on her timeline. I was unfamiliar with the Samhain tradition. It brought a new light to this time of year; a time when we need to shine our lights more brightly than ever before. It is a time to set aside judging what others are choosing to do and making choices that are right for us. It is time to shine the light on gratitude and blessings. It is a time to go within for contemplation allowing the darkness to surround us but not engulf us and find the gifts in this glorious time of year.

In the Darkness

I wrap myself in a blanket
cozy and warm
sipping hot cocoa
eyes half closed
a time for contemplation.

Overcoming fears and worries
casting a light on all there is to be grateful for
thanksgiving a holiday every day
fasting from fears
feasting on faith.

Out of the darkness of my past
I am transformed
a light bearer
having borne many battles
fighting for my soul.

Stillness and listening
Spirit pierces veil
revealing Truth and Knowledge
every problem solved
embracing beauty of stars
they can only be seen in the darkness.

From my heart to yours

In health and wellness,

Mary

Be sure to visit my website at https://marymcmanus.com to learn about my journey to health and wellness in the wake of paralytic polio and trauma

Visit the News and Events tab to listen to my inspiring and uplifting interviews

My books to motivate, uplift and inspire you are available on Amazon