It was not just that she won. It was the way she treated the dust as she was winning! I don't know if it is because she grew up in Cabrini-Green in Chicago. I don't if it is because she understood the overall importance of this win to her still young business, young self. I don't know, I don't know.

But I do know this. She won convincingly. And she taught us how to win.

You ever watch someone in her race and for awhile she races as if she is saving something for the end? Saving the big push for that last bend. Then have you ever seen that She who spends her every moment in the race racing, using everything within her every moment she is on that field?

Ever see someone who knows she is capable of winning and just the thought of not winning takes the breath away? I have.

This winner was even more than just a winner. She taught me something about winning. She kept leaving bread crumbs along the way of what true winning looks like, feels like. She wanted to win handedly, yes. But she also wanted to win without kicking dust up in her competitors' face. She wanted them to win along with her. And with that she took measured efforts to win by winning from the inside out.

And even though she blew us all away from the moment she stepped on the field, when it was her time to claim the prize she had fought so doggedly for, she never once spoke about her win of the prize. Nope she poke of her win from the inside out.

Her words to all of us."What I really won today is the ability to win by being who I am, my true self. And winning at that is everything!" http://bit.ly/2q3szhi She Prints It

When she won, we won too!

Let me be clear, what I am about to tell you I have not always felt. Most of what I am about to tell you is more new to me than old. At age 53, I strive to live a healthy lifestyle. I respect my temple. I firmly believe there is a very thin line between healthy and the opposite of healthy. Good health becomes harder to sustain over time. We can take steps maintain it. And those steps taken may help tremendously if we are in need of sustaining it during rough patches.

A wellness, preventative care doctor told me recently that the more you do for your body when it is well may help you immeasurably during periods of it becoming unwell. He said if you treat your body right, treat its cells right, they will remember and will try with all might to course correct. I believe this. I haven't always cared, but I do now. It is not until you become ill or someone close to you becomes ill that you truly appreciate how ultra fragile the body is. And yet there are so many things we can do to show it we care. That we respect it as our temple. My respect is simple. Walking, water, waste.

Although I am a long way from being a health nut, these three have provided me relatively good health and a regimen I can adhere to without much guilt or more stress.

Walking helps me maintain calorie count, maintain muscle mass, and provides me a comfortable dose of cardio stimulation. I walk about 3-5 miles per day, mostly everyday. Among these, muscle mass is really important as we age. Muscle mass helps if and when restorative healing is needed within the body. I am told I need to boost my upper muscle mass a bit more.

Second, water. Lots and lots of water. I drink 1/2 my body weight in ounces each day. That is about 9-10 eight ounce glasses. The trick to drinking this much water? Keep it near you. I place it all around my house, car and office. I drink akaline water at room temperature. When I travel, getting water I like is my first order of business. Water is the cheapest and among the best things your body can benefit from. It is the very best for maintaining healthy cells. Those healthy cells you will rely on when God forbid, nasty unhealthy cells come out to play. My body's water level is 65%. That, I was told is excellent. I don't even drink juices anymore unless in a smoothie. Water is QUEEN!

Third is waste. Getting toxins out consistently. I strive for twice per day. My strategy is ruffage, healthy snacking, water, and bad for me things in moderation. If I said anything more here, I would be straight up lying. Truth is, I love to eat. I repeat. I love to eat. I have iearned to push that plate back before over-endulging.

My one non-negotiable is no salt. I do not cook with it and I do not add it to anything, ever. I have found ways to make food taste good using herbs and seasonings. My favorite go to is lemon pepper. I use lemon pepper a lot!

Last thing before I let you go. Don't beat yourself up over what you are or are not doing regarding your health. Think of it this way. Your body is yours to do what you want. If you want to live in it longer with energy and vitality then behave like it. It is your gift. Your temple. Take baby steps toward better health.

#happyliving

In my teens it was unpopular to be the smart girl. Boys wanted pretty and flirty. Smart to them was climbing through bedroom windows.

In my twenties smart was okay but still not the "it" thing with the guys. Guys liked catching pretty more than they liked chasing smart. Oh well all was forgiven because at least most guys left the windows alone and started using the front door. Nothing sweeter than hearing the chiming of the door bell ring.

In my thirties, guys were attracted to smart but not the "know it all" types. Smart girls were allowed to be "smart" but not too "smart". No problem, because we could be too sweet, too giving, too forgiving, too loose, too available, too "anything" but never ever too all-knowingly smart.

​In my forties, smart pays bills, opens doors, solves real problems. Smart own their houses with lots of doors, lots of windows and the most beautiful sounding chimes.

By 40, men will invite smart in leaving pretty on the porch. Trouble is by now, the smart girls have all grown up and moved on to marry very smart boys with very nice porches.

In his fifties, he has met and married two, maybe perhaps three really pretty ladies. His latest pretty can be found gazing out their window looking straight past him sitting on their porch.

​Pretty smart of her. What he was missing, not seeing was her pretty in smart all that time.