The Bracelet

The other day my daughter Jaye gave me a bracelet. She told me that she was ‘passing it down’ to me. It is a simple silver bracelet with a small span of silver engraved with the word ‘Boston”.

About a year ago, Jaye decided she wanted to try and qualify for the Boston Marathon. Qualifying for Boston for most runners is a significant undertaking. Just training for a marathon means logging in many miles of running a week. It requires considerable discipline. To qualify for Boston, the pressure of finishing a marathon in an age and sex specific time gets added to the ‘simple’ feat of running 26.2 miles.

Jaye had the ‘Boston’ bracelet made and wore it every day to remind her of her goal. When she thought she was too busy to run, she would look at the bracelet and go for a run. When the weather was cold and rainy, she would look at the bracelet and go for a run. When she doubted her abilities, she would look at the bracelet and go for a run. About five months later, Jaye ran the Portland Marathon and qualified for Boston. A few weeks ago, she ran the actual Boston Marathon and savored every minute of it.

Now, she is encouraging me to follow in her footsteps. This morning I was a bit jet lagged. The laundry was piled high, my in-box piled even higher, but I looked at the bracelet and went out for a run.

We all have many demands upon our time that make it easy to lose sight of a goal. What goal are you working on? What can be your ‘bracelet’ to help you stay focused on your goal?

Judy Warner