When You Can’t

Yesterday morning the babe and I were enjoying our typical morning breakfast routine- oatmeal, bananas, peaches, & blueberries for him; pancakes & cinnamon rolls {yes, both} for me; our daily dose of “news” in the background. I say “news” because I mean The Today Show, where in between entirely useful segments like “How to Dress for Fall Weather” {wear a sweater?} and “Let’s Cover a 5 Course Meal in 30 Seconds”, there’s occasionally an actual bit of news.

Being the sucker that I am, I prefer the heartwarming, touchy-feely news clips to the awful what-kind-of-world-do-we-live-in stories. Yesterday morning was no exception.

Imagine finishing the first 2 portions of a triathlon. You’re in the home stretch- the run. You can almost see the finish line.

Then a screw in your prosthetic leg breaks.

Now imagine you’re an 11 year old boy. An 11 year old bone cancer survivor.

How heartbreaking to come so far, get so close, and not be able to finish your race.

Well, good thing there was a group of Marines cheering on the sidelines after they’d finished their volunteer gig that morning. Impressed by the little boy’s composure and his determination to finish the race, the Marines ran the boy piggyback style for the remainder of the race, allowing him to cross the finish line with a smile on his face.

Yeah, that’s my kind of news story. That’s the stuff I like to wake up to. Not that a little boy had to have his leg amputated because he was tragically struck with bone cancer at a devastatingly young age, but that he’s out there doing triathlons. Finishing triathlons. He’s doing things that most capable adults wouldn’t dream of tackling. That’s inspiring.

The last race I did supported the Challenged Athletes Foundation. One of the marathoners had a prosthetic leg that fell off in the middle of the race because it got too humid. And to think my biggest challenge of the day was that my knee hurt a little.

There’s a local group that recently helped a bunch of kids that wouldn’t otherwise be able to compete participate in a triathlon- pulling them on rafts, pushing them in strollers, giving them the experience of racing. The husband’s company works with a group called Athletes Helping Athletes that does a similar thing. It’s amazing.

So next time you don’t “feel like” going for a run or hitting the gym, think about those that wish they could and can’t. Better yet, help them do it.