I’m back! I only ran a mile today, and it reminded me of running I did with my roommate during our freshman year of college…run to the coffee shop, get coffee, walk back.

It’s a start.

I am thankful for a few external reminders delivered lovingly for the nudge back on track.

I am thankful for the healthy baby that was just born into the MRH family. I was filled with awe and gratitude at the response of our global village that made sure resources were available to ensure a healthy delivery. It is often the tangible stories and responses that remind me why I do what I do. We are all so interconnected, and the impact of our collective effort is very real and an actual matter of life or death. Even when our girls become young adults and reintegrate into the world beyond our walls, we continue to relate to them as family. We respond with love and kindness. We respond within the limits of what we have to meet them where they are for what they need.

I am thankful for my new doctor, who took time during my annual physical to get to know my life and me a bit. She asked questions and listened long enough for me to hear myself admit I don’t put myself first. I know I am not alone in this, and I have long known that it will be one of my greatest life lessons to figure out. When faced with the choice of doing something to benefit myself or doing something that will benefit someone else, I almost always choose someone else. In my head, I know I should invest in myself so I might walk the planet a bit longer to benefit others. In my head, I know that I’m worthy of taking care of myself. In my head, I know that I cannot sustain “we” winning over “me”. In my head, I know that taking care of myself does not equal selfishness. One of my mantras in 2015 was “Care for Self as much as Other”. I am reclaiming that mantra for the rest of 2018. I am sharing this here so you can remind me.

I am thankful for my friend Todd who has not given up on running to raise awareness and friends for My Refuge House. We are planning to run the Derby Day 5K in Santa Anita, CA on April 7! If you want to join us, we’re personalizing our bibs with #myrefugehouse 🙂 It would be great to have you!

With Loving Kindness and Peace for you and for myself, Heather

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I always love running with friends. Please email me ([email protected]) if you would like to join me for one of my future runs. If you would like to invest in the work of My Refuge House, please click below. However you engage with us, it is important. Thank you for being part of our journey and doing what you can to be a Restorer.

Inspired by How Full Is Your Bucket?, A Drop For Your Bucket offers a somewhat stream of conscious peek into my brain and heart during my training “adventures”. Between my 40^th birthday in October of 2017 and the 10^th anniversary of My Refuge House in September of 2018, I will run 10 different races. My hope is to gather friends along the way who will either run with me or cheer us on as we raise awareness about the journey of My Refuge House! I hope you will receive at least a drop of inspiration in each of these raw reflections. Thank you for reading and pondering.