The past few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster. So many wonderful things have happened…meeting your best friends’ new baby, having a surprise birthday party, skydiving and first marathons, and finding out friends are pregnant. At the same time more bad things have happened to people near and dear to me than in a while. They say bad things come in three’s, but we are well past that.

Sometimes life is so confusing when we try to make sense of why things happen to certain people. Why bad things happen to good people. Without being too specific three weeks ago a close family member lost their job, another had a bad breakup and is moving home, and another made a bad choice and got a DUI (luckily they didn’t hurt anyone else). Two weeks ago a former student of mine died way too soon. Today I just found out a college friend with a young family has stage three cancer. It seems each week brings something more upsetting, shocking, and sad that makes me question everything.

It is days and moments like these that I lace up my shoes and pound the pavement for answers. Today I almost skipped my run overcome with emotion and sadness, but then I reminded myself how running almost always makes things seem more sensical and manageable. Sometimes I get no answers or real explanations while out on the road, but somehow things make more sense when I turn back into the driveway. And really what answers would make sense?

Life is full of unknowns, events we can’t begin to predict, and moments taken away from people too soon. There is something about the rhythm of pounding feet on pavement, the sound of your breath, and nature in action all around that brings a sense of calm and peace. While this isn’t understanding, and it certainly doesn’t take the pain away, it does give you time with your thoughts to process, comprehend, and begin to move forward. It gives you those moments alone so you can be strong for the people who need you. When life presents the unexpected, thankfully there is running to help you push through the challenges.

SS