They say you bloom where you're planted. I think you can wilt where you're planted also. Sometimes the wilting is what eventually gives way to the blooming. Sometimes it's vice versa.

It's easy to see the good in the "blooming" experiences of life such as graduation, marriage, finishing a race, and getting a raise. It's not as easy to see the good in the "wilting" experiences of life such as failure, heartbreak, injury, and death of a loved one.

I try to see the silver lining in all of the wilting moments in my life. In most cases, the silver lining doesn't just appear automatically. It can take days, weeks, months, and sometimes years to see how something good could come out of something so painful. Don't expect to see the full silver lining at first; rather, know that more silver will be added as you heal and learn.

One of the experiences that profoundly changed me was my battle with anorexia nervosa. It is still changing me now even though I have technically recovered. You can't look at life the same after going into that darkness and then coming out into the light, knowing you got a second chance. I hope that through my writings and reflections about recovery, someone finds that a second chance is possible, at least little by little.

Another experience I will reflect on is growing up with a parent diagnosed with ALS. My father's diagnosis occurred when I was 10 years old and he passed away when I was 44. Seems highly improbable to live that long when you have ALS, right? That's why I can't put a true name to my dad's disease. He had classic ALS symptoms but lived for years. My point of telling my dad's story is not to figure out the name of his disease. My point is to share how this disease affected my family, mainly looking through a child's lens.

I also have a passion for writing about running, cycling, and other athletic endeavors that have taught me either to bloom or wilt. I may throw in some training tips here and there, but I hope I have some credibility as a physical therapist of over 20 years.

Here's to blooming and wilting.