I'm not running away from it - I'm running through it

I cannot even begin to explain how glad I am that 2013 is over. Granted there were some wonderful things that happened over the past year, but looking back on 2013 stirs up a lot of pain. I lost my mom. Those 4 words are still hard for me to say, and I think that the more tears I cry the more miles I run.
I don't think that I am running away from anything rather I am running my way through it. Life is hard, no one ever told me it would be easy but my mom was the best at reminding me that it was always worth it.  She would remind me to not settle for less than I deserved and to always fight for myself and the people and things that I love.
Now I'm pushing my friends and family - whether they like it or not, because if I can help them get/be/stay healthy - the chance that I will get to spend more time with them increases and I am fighting to keep them all for as long as possible. Sure accidents happen, and I truly believe when it is your time to go, it is your time to go - but why push it? Why give your self anything less than the best possible odds to live a long healthy and happy life? Of course you have to do it for you, you have to do it because YOU want it - but on the days it's harder to hit the trail or get to the gym - do it for the people you love, and the people that love you. You owe it to yourself, and you owe it to them.
On those bad days push through the pain, push through the strife, push through the irritating traffic and the grumpy people you've encountered and remind yourself what in your life makes you smile...what can make you laugh so hard that you cry...what just by sight or sound can turn your day around? Then surround yourself with those people and those things...Don't be afraid to fight for your right to happiness.
My mom once told me that when she was younger she thought it was the polite thing to just bite her tongue and keep her opinion to herself; but as she aged she learned that if she didn't speak up - often no one would. IF you know what your body needs; if you know how your mind heals and your heart mends; Do That. Do it for you because no one else can do it for you.
When people ask me when I became a runner, I know the date - I always will, it's June 21, 2013 the day after my Mom left this earth. Then when they ask why I turned to running or what I'm trying to run from - I tell them, I'm not running away from my feelings, I'm not running away from my loss or my pain...I'm just running my way through it (because no one else can do it for me).