We lost our friend, Lyla, to cancer this week. She passed very early in the morning on Christmas Day.  It’s been hard the past few days. Hard to get going and to think clearly. We are leaving for the runDisney races in a week. But the kids don’t know about it yet.

We have been going through the steps of grief. Our children have never gone through this before. Especially with a friend of theirs. She was too young. It’s been hard to keep my thoughts straight and to motivate myself to work out and get in my miles.

But I dug down deep and found strength yesterday to do something for myself. And I did the same today. I wasn’t sure I had the strength to run a few days ago.  But today, despite the rain, I laced up my shoes, plugged in my headphones, and hit the road.

It was a peaceful run in the rain and I used that time to meditate and refocus my motivation. I thought of all the hard things Lyla endured and reminded myself that running is a gift.

Many of us got together Tuesday night to make bows for people in town to hang on their mailboxes or on their telephone poles. It was nice to commune with others and share this love for the family.

As I prepare to pack for the races I wanted to do something to honor Lyla while I was running. So I am going to wear her picture on my shirts for all 4 races to help raise awareness for rhabdomyosarcoma.

We will always love you, Lyla. As we go through these next few days I will be relying on her strength to help me get through and help the kids understand that we will still love her always.