Health is Wealth (by Meechellee)

"Health is wealth." I won first prize with this quote in the slogan contest during the World Health Organization day at my school when I was in fourth grade. I won a box of chocolates! Let me get this straight first, I am not one of those few students whose homework or school projects are all done during the weekend. This is me while having breakfast in the morning, a few hours before the slogan contest, "Mom!!! It's my school's World Health Organization day today, and I need to slogan that has something to do with health!" My mom responded in a very irritated tone, "Health is wealth!" My mom was a teacher but she taught at a different school (thank goodness!). I went home with a box of chocolates and told my mom I had won the first prize of the slogan contest, but I also asked her, "Why can health be wealth?" To the best of my recollection, my mom intuitively responded, "How can you enjoy the things you like to do if you're sick? Even if you have all the money in the world, money can't buy you good health. So, take care of your body because health is wealth." Indeed.

If health is wealth, I am so broke right now because it has been nine days since I last ran during a cold, windy, rainy Shamrock race. No doubt it was the bad weather that got me. I've been lying in bed most of the time since Friday afternoon, and it's ironic to say that it is tiring not doing anything. Though I have to admit that I did enjoy not doing anything but it only lasted for a day. After that, it has been a struggle, or shall I say, stressful. I start to worry about my training because I missed last week's 18-mile run, and I don't think running 21 miles this weekend will do me any good. As I continue to stress about my training, I had to remind myself that the most important thing I have to focus on is to become 100% healthy, and the rest will follow.

So for the time being, I mesmerize all the days I ran miles and miles on pavements, trails, and treadmills... swam meters and meters in the pool... and, of course, all the food that I ate and ate. And the more I think about those things, I feel this revitalizing energy within me which is a good sign. A sign that I'll have my wealth back again...

So run on!
-Meechellee