You never know who is watching

I want to tell you guys something. Last night, before I went to sleep, I cried. I wasn't sad or angry or even scared. I was happy. I was talking to a friend from home when she said the nicest thing she could have possibly said to me. She said "That's so good that your still going and doing your goals! You're inspiring me for sure". I cannot tell you what this meant to me. As many of you know, I was training for a half marathon last year when I came down with the flu at the end of December. It was mid March before the cough decided to leave. I didn't get to do my half marathon, but I decided that I would start training again for next year. I signed up for a ten miler in September. On Easter Sunday, I tripped and broke my leg. This was particularly hard for me because I was on bed rest for nearly three months. I couldn't do anything. I had gone from 165 to 200 lbs. I was devastated. All the weight I had lost and all that hard work for nothing. I started working out again around the end of July once all my stitches were out and I was used to walking again. I've lost a few pounds and am still working towards my half marathon. I can start training again in about two weeks. However I cannot do the ten miler. But, I am still working towards my goals and I am doing the best I can to be healthy and have a good mindset. I have been particularly hard on myself lately. I had no idea that my friend was watching and taking notice. I post my accomplishments because I am proud of them. I didn't know that I could inspire anyone. I have been looking at myself as an overweight woman who is where she is because life handed her some really tough blows. Now I look at myself as a determined person who won't let ANYTHING get in her way. I also received a message from a friend when telling him about my struggles. He said "You can get there Amy, you are a strong woman, you'll be there in no time". Again, I felt like I had been looking at things all wrong. I felt like I was weak because of my injuries. I was seeing the glass as half empty. After these two very thought provoking messages, I started to look at everything in my life differently. Last night, before I went to sleep, I looked over at my snoozing husband and realized just how very lucky I am to have someone like him. Things could have been so much different. I got lucky, I married a really great guy who loves me unconditionally. I cried a lot last night. I think I needed to hear those to things to truly realize how great my life is and to see how great I am. I have never doubted that I had a good life, but now I see it as an amazing blessing. To conclude this blog post, I would like to challenge you all once again to remind yourselves how great you truly are. I would like to give a shout out to people who have inspired me. First names only. :)

My sister Echo. She has been on her on journey to a healthy life, and I know that it wasn't easy. To see how far she has come has really helped me to keep going as well.

My friend Danielle. She is such a great person with amazing confidence in herself and others. I hope to one day be that confident.

My friend Jason. He has been through a difficult time and still came out fighting.

My husband. When he started running, I decided I wanted to as well. He has been there for me through so much and has always supported me in my goals. He is a great person who deserves way more recognition than he gets, but doesn't want it.

There are so many others. I'm sorry this post was all about me. I just really wanted to show you all how one little message or word of kindness could really help someone who might need to hear it.

Singe Dad Laughing and fun times with Children

Today I am going to write about Single Dad Laughing, a blog by Dan Pearce. If you haven't read it, please follow the links below :)

https://www.facebook.com/SingleDadLaughing

http://www.danoah.com/

Dan's blog is rather eye opening most of the time, and it got me thinking a lot this week. For example, he talks about playing with your children (I don't have children, but most of you know that I watch a little girl and sometimes her older brother). I noticed this week, when I play with Princess (I will not use her real name as my blog is not private), she giggles continuously. I love her laugh and her brothers laugh. We were playing hide and go seek today when, out of nowhere, I got a migraine. I turned on Disney Junior for them and gave them some Goldfish crackers. Princess really wanted snuggles. I snuggled her but felt really bad when she started asking me to count (meaning she wanted to hide). I just couldn't do it. I needed to sit. The look on her face broke my heart. I know it wasn't my fault that I got hit with a migraine, but it wasn't hers either. Thankfully, my husband came over for a little bit and played with her. I still felt bad that I couldn't play with her myself, but I knew she was content playing with anyone. Children just want our attention. They want to know they are loved and cared for. We are all they have. In this world of advanced technology, we tend to forget that just sitting them in front of a T.V. or giving them a video game is not enough. Children are only little for so long. They grow into teenagers, and then adults. when this happens, we wonder were all that time went. We are so addicted to technology that we are getting our children addicted as well. Turn off the electronics. Read a story to your children. Ask them about their lives. It may seem boring or even repetitive, but children just want US. ALL of us. They don't just want a hug and a kiss on their way to school or at bedtime. They NEED us. If we don't give them the attention they need and crave, they will get it elsewhere. Whether it be from video games, T.V., or other people. If we don't give our children attention, they will more than likely become teenagers who don't trust their parents and they may even grow into adults that don't stay in touch with their parents. I am saying this based on what I have seen with my friends and with my friends children. Instead of dismissing our children and/or their concerns, we need to embrace them. We need to tell them how much we love them. They are, after all, learning from us.