A Dad-tervention

This is gonna sound weird, but I'm pretty sure my dad spoke to me through a Katy Perry song this morning...

If I told that to him, he'd say, "Who?" 

Let me back up.

These last weeks have been hard- exhausting physically and emotionally. My half-marathon training is at it's peak and instead of feeling stronger, it just feels harder and harder. The same thing can be said about the grief stuff too. 

I had a terrible 10K run over the weekend. So I wasn't jumping out of bed this morning to get out there again. But I did (about an hour later than usual) and during the first part of my run I planned a blog post titled "Running on Empty." 

Doesn't that sound like a riveting read?

Anyway, my music was on a random shuffle (not that I was really paying much attention to it) and I was composing the post in my head. All of a sudden I hear these lyrics pumping through my headphones:

"Do you ever feel like a plastic bag,

Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin

Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?"

Oh my gosh. Yes, Katy. Yes I do.

"Do you ever feel already buried deep six feet under,

Screams but no one seems to hear a thing?"

And then all of a sudden I thought *maybe* this might be a message from Dad.

"Do you know that there's still a chance for you

'Cause there's a spark in you?

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine

Just own the night like the 4th of July."

A reminder about light. I need to look up more.

And then the chorus. About fireworks. I should explain that the only time I have seen fireworks in the past 6 years was our New Years Eve in Aruba this past January. With my Dad.

"'Cause baby you're a firework

Come on show them what you're worth

Make 'em go 'oh, oh, oh!'

As you shoot across the sky-y-y."

Aruban fireworks

So that got my butt in gear and I kicked my run up a notch.  I was towards the end of it, and "Firework" is a really good running song. 

And then, just in case he thought I wasn't paying attention or doubting him, the song that ended my run was "Chasing the Sun."  I have a history of LOVING that song.  Because of lyrics like this:

"You said remember that life is not meant to be wasted,
We can always be chasing the sun...

All we can do is try
And live like we're still alive...

And the gift of my heartbeat sounds like a symphony..."

So I may have been crying, but I ended my run much stronger than I started.  And I credit that to my dad.  And am thankful for the reminder to keep looking for the light.