Come Out And Play!

I wrote one of my favorite poems after a dream I had. I was dancing in the rain a la Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain without my leg brace or shoes, splashing in the puddles healthy, whole and free.

From "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life":
Come Out and Play

Arms flung open wide dancing in the rain
pure abiding joy to feel alive again
healing tears fall and blend in God’s puddle
no time to sit in a corner and huddle
all the old rules driven by fears
washed away now by God’s loving tears
the imprint dad left no longer remains
rain washes away all of the stains
baptized with love, Truth lights my way
the sun shines through on this rainy day
splashing and laughing my heart opens wide
embracing and flowing I’m one with the tide
God takes my hand release the old way
bathe in my glory come out and play!

I continue to be in awe of the miracle of my healing from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma. Shortly after the diagnosis of Post Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease, I got still and asked for Divine Guidance. The answer came in the form of a poem, Running the Race, followed by many many poems in which I imagined a future very different from my past and a future very different from the one the doctors predicted for me: to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair.

I combined working with an earth angel of a physical therapist at Spaulding Outpatient Hospital in Boston with harnessing the power of the mind/body connection to create a path for healing. While feverishly writing poetry, I worked my body out of its deconditioned state. After being discharged from outpatient physical therapy, I was led to a personal trainer in October of 2007. By February of 2008, I made significant improvements in my functioning and declared that I wanted to run the 2009 Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab as part of their Race for Rehab Team despite never having run a day in my life.

Running became a way of life for me; medicine to heal mind, body and soul!

We knew the weather was going to be windy and raw this morning based on the forecast and yesterday's evening walk. We were not going to be deterred in getting in our Monday morning 5K.

We resurrected our winter running clothes and donned a bada** attitude. We were going to be really bada** and go around the Reservoir but once we got there, the winds were whipping the water into whitecaps. We decided to ad lib a run around our neighborhood.

There was not a "sole" in sight and while it is incredibly challenging to have a stay at home order, it was liberating to not be concerned with social distancing or wearing a mask. I could imagine a time when we no longer need to be concerned with wearing a mask, social distancing or whether or not there will be what we need in the grocery store (although I do imagine and feel that everything I need is available to me) and I felt that reality course through every cell in my body with each foot strike.

Ruth Anne and I experienced the exhilaration, rejuvenation and unbridled joy of being out in the elements this morning.

It was invigorating to run in those conditions in late April; perhaps because we know warmer temperatures are on the way and we have already been treated to some glorious Springtime weather in New England.

Several of my runner friends posted their runs on Facebook and expressed what a glorious feeling it was to play in the rain this morning.

Before the diagnosis of Post Polio Syndrome, I had no idea what it meant to play, to run and move freely in my body.



What a treasure and a gift it is to go out for a run in wind and rain!

I invite you all to come out and play!


Be sure to visit my website to learn more about my inspirational journey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the Boston Marathon and beyond!

My books are available on Amazon.

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness
With love and peace
Mary