I started running in the Fall of 2011 after my father passed away. Those early runs were full of tears and questions, hurting and healing, reflection and peace. Slowly though, I mean slllooowwllly, mile by mile I became a runner.
I don't remember when, but soon I began to pick up loose change I spied while out on a run. Some days I'd come home with only a penny, other days, twelve or more cents. The wives tale, or mothers tale, goes that if you stop for the first penny you see, you will continue to find more on your run. If you pass it up, you won't. I always stop for that first penny. Or nickel, or any coin.
On a Saturday run with my BRF's, I saw a penny, and upon stopping to pick it up noticed there was in fact a whole pile of pennies. Twenty one to be exact. While only 21cents, it felt like a victory. Within the mother runner community, coins gathered during runs allow for bragging rights, so I couldn't wait to take a photo and tweet it out with the hashtag #foundchange.
Then my thinking began to shift.
Foundchange happens on every run, regardless of the number of coins. I find change in myself, my thoughts, my surroundings, each and every time I lace up my shoes. Really though, change happens each and every day, regardless of if I am running or just living life. It's taking the time to stop and notice it, maybe even pick it up and consider yourself lucky.
Later that same weekend, following the lead of my beautiful, rascally almost 6 year old son, we had a lemonade stand to raise funds for Team Every Mother Counts. The first day we raised $15, $52.42 the next. He was proud, he was bold and he knew every step of the way that the money was going toward my journey to the NYC Marathon. We, he, is making change happen. Little by little, mile by mile, penny by penny.
It has always been on my heart to start a blog, but it was then that I made the decision to actually move beyond the idea stage. It will be in this space that I share my stories - about training for my first marathon, raising funds for Team Every Mother Counts, and all of the riches along the way.
Here is the thing - if the tale holds true and the penny really is worth picking up, isn't that true about all change? Start with something small, and see where it takes you. Chances are good that it will only get better.