Inspirtion from a 10 year old...

About a year ago, when I first started going to the gym on a regular basis, there was a small boy with long curly hair and a prosthetic where his calf and foot used to be.

This little boy suffered a injury to his left leg which resulted in the amputation. He is a lower income child from a single parent household. This is a boy whom most would say has every right in the world to be angry and despondent about the hand which life has dealt him. On this day, when I first saw him, he was not only smiling, but walking and running for about 5 seconds at a time.

The boy was obviously in discomfort when he was running for the short distances by the smile being broken by intermittent grimaces. I overheard the adult who was with him encouraging him and congratulating him how far he had come, as well as telling stories of other heroic little boys like himself. I was in awe as this child kept running walking the whole time while I was doing a 30 minute jog. Not one time did I notice him say "I can't." "It hurts," " This is too much."................instead just a smile, an occasional laugh at the story, and one time "I can finally run again.".

Over the course of the last year, I have seen this boy become stronger and more confident in his abilities. Today, I had the pleasure to see him still smiling and running........He is up to being able to run "over a mile" and he thought that was something he'd never be able to do again. He plans on running in 5K's as well as longer runs as he continues to become stronger and more capable. This little boy is full of thanks, vibrancy, and positive attitude. On many days when I feel blah, or just not into, I think of this little boy and suck it up and go (Unless it's due to injury.).