I came across this picture and wanted to share it with you. For me, it’s so motivating and makes me thankful for my good health. Read all about Amy Palmiero-Winters. For her day job, Amy is a welder with a huge heart! I hope you can see the smile on the child’s face as Amy shares her love of running with this young beauty.

Recently I was at a friends house for a party. One of the guests had a son about 4 years old, the cutest guy! later, I got up to leave and headed for the door, and the little guy made a beeline for me. He came over and put his little hand on my crutch. He looked up at me and said “I’ll help you.”

I got a huge lump in my throat and couldn’t speak. I turned to the mother and she said “his grandfather uses crutches.”

 I’ve met many wonderful people in my life and have had many acts of kindness extended to me but…..I’ll never forget this random act of kindness

Have you read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin? It should be required reading for all of those affected by a disability and their parents! This is the gospel according to Mertz It’s Sunday and I’m sitting in my favorite Starbucks here in Greenwood Village, Colorado; reading the New York Times.

One of the articles I came across was in the sports section. The article is written by Christopher Clarey, well done Christopher, and the title is “A skier Hopes she will again be able to lend more than her voice. The article is about Sandra Laoura. Sandra won a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Today she is a reporter for French Televisions. Now for the rest of the story…

Sandra’s live changed on January 5, 2007, at Mont-Gabriel, a ski resort near Montreal. She was preparing for the first World Cup competition of the season and was on her last run and last jump of the session. For reasons still not wholly explained, she started a black flip and did not finish it, landing on her back on the snow and breaking two vertebrae. She believes she blacked out during the jump. It’s been three winters now and she still remains a paraplegic.

Sandra said: “I was expecting a happy Olympics so I could revive myself.” “And I’m realizing that they are sad Olympics for me, and so its going to be harder to go back to France and move beyond certain things.” What do you think “those certain things” might be? Try this on for size: “I’ll be happy when…..” From personal experience I can assure you this is the most dangerous thought any disabled person can harbor. She went on to say: “I’m still in mourning.” “I don’t know for how long.”  Been there, done that!

When I first read the article about Sandra Laoura, I didn’t think much about it, maybe because I’m so focused on making my life better and happier everyday; its harder for me to relate to those who are not choosing to take a similar path. It was pretty amazing that the next article I read was by Jan Hoffman called On top of the Happiness Racket. She introduced me to the book The Happiness project by Gretchen Rubin-thank you Jan Hoffman for a great article!

The Happiness Project started out as a yearlong effort by Ms Rubin, to track her monthly progress-the goal was simple, amplify her happiness quotient. I think everyone should have this on a card with them:

“Enjoy the moment. Notice what’s happening. Feel grateful.” Yes, even if you are disabled, and in mourning, you can employ this strategy.

As a matter of fact, according to yours truly, you must embrace this strategy to survive and thrive. The options are not pretty.

Do yourself and your loved one a favor-go buy this book by Ms Rubin. If you can’t afford it right now go to her website, The Happiness Project and start really living your live to the fullest! On a final note, I want to wish the very best to Sandra Laoura, she is a very competitive woman who’s spirit is crushed right now-she will figure a way out of this. I know we will be reading great things about Ms Laoura in the near future Best Wishes, Sandra!!

As I grew older, and  lot more appreciate of all my moms efforts; it amazed me all of the time and concern she gave me over the years. It was mom who spent countless hours at the hospital, at physical therapy and cheer leading me down the path of life. Now it was my turn.

I got the call early Sunday morning that mom had suffered a massive heart attack and was only alive because she was on a ventilator-the news came like a punch in the gut. I’m a believer in the glass is half full but this shook me to the core. When I walked in the hospital Sunday evening there was mom, in an induced coma struggling for her life, and there was nothing I could do. Now I was getting a flavor of what she had gone through so many years ago.

Mom was touch and go for several days. The hope was that she would regain enough strength so they could do a triple bypass surgery. Fortunately that came to be and all those hours of agonizing and feeling helpless came to pass. It made me even more appreciative of all that mom had gone through and all she had done for me on my road to recovery. I had the pleasure of spending time with her this Thanksgiving week, watching her slow but steady progress. It was a special Thanksgiving this year and it gave me added incentive to finish this book and dedicate it to my mother!