Got problems?

Who doesn't right?



Ahhh but no worries because every problem brings incredible gifts.

When I was in the middle of water pouring through the ceiling in my upstairs hallway, through windows and the back door and snow was piled so high we thought we'd never see our back stairs again worried about how would we escape if God forbid there was a fire (Tom told me we could jump out the window and land in the snow pile on the side of the house) I was feeling stressed to the max. People were telling us it would cost at least $2500 to clean the roof and remove the ice dams. Feeling overwhelmed at that point was an understatement. But Spirit is always at work if we open ourselves and ask for help.

First I saw a post from one of my friend's on Facebook that we could submit a claim to our insurance company. Water from above due to ice dams is covered in home owner's policy. We have worked with our agent for years and he was wonderful in helping to initiate the claim. The process went very smoothly and we will be getting additional monies as more damage was revealed as the snow and ice melted.

We needed to do work on the house and the ice dam damage gave us the push we needed.

In the midst of my panic, I was somehow able to hear Spirit suggest "two words" duct tape. There was a political joke about someone predicting the apocalypse and the answer to every problem was two words - duct tape. It certainly was the answer to our problem to prevent further water damage.

And then the Universe sent us Eddie the roofer who only charged us $400 to clear the snow off of the roof; explained to us what was causing the ice dams and that all we needed to do was put some holes in the ceiling to allow for quick drainage. Once the snow was off the roof, the leaking would stop. It took trust and faith in this total stranger that the leaking would in fact stop.

He also told us about Mass Save to have our insulation replaced and to get a home energy audit. We saved $2000 to get new insulation, have proper ventilation for our bathroom fan (which was in violation of a safety code), have work done to prevent ice dams from forming in the future and have already saved over $20/month on our electric bill from the energy audit.

Eddie also referred us to Mike the electrician to have the electrical work done. Mike also found code violations and brought us up to code while he did the repairs from ice dam damage.

As good fortune would have it, Eddie has not only been doing roofing, but does contract work. Next week we begin the final phase of repairs.

I am taking this opportunity to clean and have our home reflect the positive and amazing shift and transformation that is happening in our lives. We will buy a few new things but running things through the washing machine and doing a good scrubbing is really all that's needed.

I am taking it room by room and relishing in the transformation while the process of repairs is happening in other rooms.

It's amazing to feel the energy shift ...

So got problems? Who doesn't right but oh the gifts and treasures we discover wrapped up inside of the problems when we open up to the goodness and benevolence of the Universe. Just remember...



Be blessed! Journey well! To all good things...

My latest book, "Journey Well" is now available on Amazon along with all of my inspirational books. 50% of book proceeds are donated to the Massachusetts Resiliency Center, a safe, welcoming space for survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing to heal and stay in touch with one another; a virtual hub for a widely dispersed community whose lives have been impacted by the tragic events of April 15th and the events that followed.

When terror struck the world's oldest and most beloved marathon on April 15, 2013, it was a defining moment in Mary McManus’ life and the lives of all those in Boston and around the world. It was her wake up call to return to the sport and community that have been medicine and a lifeline for her throughout her marathon of healing the late effects of paralytic polio and experiencing 9 years of domestic violence as a child and adolescent. Mary captures the essence of Boston Strong through her experience of the 2014 Boston Marathon and as she profiles the people who are Boston Stronger. Through her blog posts, poems and journal entries woven together with excerpts from her memoir, “Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility,” you will experience, through one woman’s journey of transformation and healing, that no matter what happens to us, we can all learn to journey well.

As Winter Turns to Spring-Look for the Snowdrop

We had another couple of inches of snow last night and one could think oh my goodness when will this winter ever end? How will the snow ever melt in time for the Boston Marathon? I choose to sit here and feel the sun warming my back through the window knowing and trusting that winter can never last. Whether it be the season winter on the calendar or the winter of a challenge in our lives, the darkness never lasts and darkness never wins. Even in the midst of the coldest, darkest days there is a glow and a warmth that can never die.

When you see the icicles and blocks of ice that encase houses and the snow that buries bushes you wonder how will anything bloom again? The snowdrop is a flower that blooms in late winter. Before the grass returns, while there is still snow on the ground, these beautiful, fragile flowers remind us of resiliency and what is possible even in the midst of challenging conditions.



In February of 2007, I sat at my dining room table facing a grim future. I had been diagnosed with post polio syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. I sat in a leg brace, was told to adapt my Cape home or find a ranch and prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair. I was at risk for aspiration pneumonia because of difficulty swallowing and was told that if I had any hope of stabilizing my functioning where I was then that I had to quit my award winning VA social work career.

In the midst of the dark night of my mind, body and soul and in the middle of February, I discovered the gift of poetry in my soul that opened the portal to healing unleashing the power of my imagination to see beyond appearances while accepting everything as it was in that moment. The cadence of Dr. Seuss that my physical therapist, Miss Holly read to me before every painful physical therapy session and then had me recite back to her blossomed and now I was holding the pen that became my divining rod for healing.

The first poem I wrote - "Running the Race" foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon run only as I sat in a leg brace, using a wheelchair at times for mobility, and never having a run a day in my life, I had no idea that I would one day cross the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon.

Running the Race
Early summer 1959 my kindergarten year
Everyone around me filled with nervous fear
Despite the Salk vaccine hope polio would disappear
The polio virus crept right up and knocked me in the rear.

Dancing all around the gym feeling free just like a bird
I dropped to the ground just like a stone
and no one said a word.
The pain it was so searing-the diagnosis even worse

"It's polio" the doctor said...he was abrupt and terse.
Called one of the 'lucky ones' I had a 'mild case'
But with the other athletes I could never keep their pace.
Miss Holly physical therapist,
curly hair and a warm, broad smile
It tempered the pain of being apart - to walk I'd take awhile.

I always wore those 'special' shoes
the kids they poked and teased
With no support and much abuse
with childhood I wasn't pleased.
But put nose to the grindstone and learned all that I could
I couldn't kick a ball but my grades were always good.

Years went by and no more thought to polio did I give
I accepted the limp and everything else
and decided my life I would live.
But symptoms of weakness and muscle pain did grow
I kept a stoic face hoping no one else would know.

Life no longer was my own I struggled through each day
Suffered in silence, isolated from friends-
trying to keep depression at bay.
And with the grace of glorious God my world it opened wide
I discovered there was a Post Polio team
and they were on my side.

Using wheelchair to travel, set limits on what I could do,
Resulted in joy to realize I could live life anew.
Celebrated my body- creaks, groans and need for a brace
While in my mind I focused on winning a 10K race.
Sought out paths for healing and my spirit flew free
For the first time in life, I could truly be me.

The chains are gone and possibilities abound
I'm a tree with my roots planted firmly in ground.
I'm now off the sidelines, no need to sit and whine
So much gratitude fills my heart and love and beauty shine.
After all these years I can join the loving human race
I exceed all expectations and now I set the pace.

Seeing 7 foot snow piles and ice still on the ground, as you face challenges wondering when will it end and how will I ever make it from here to there look for the snowdrop.

Journey well!

"Journey Well" and all of my inspirational books are available on Amazon.

"Journey Well" is a book about resilience, strength, courage and how we are able to journey well no matter what conditions life hands to us. I profile the people who are Boston Stronger and share how 4/15/13 was a wake up call to me to return to my healing path from contracting paralytic polio at age 5 and 9 years of domestic violence as a child and adolescent.



50% of all book proceeds are donated to AccesSportAmerica where people of all ages and abilities achieve higher function and fitness through high challenge sports and training.

On Superheroes, Metorological Spring and Venturing Back to the Roads

Happy March 1st everyone; the day known as Meteorological Spring. Even though the temperatures were in the teens and low 20's, yesterday felt like the first day of Spring along the Beacon Street portion of the Boston Marathon route. Runners dressed up as their favorite super heroes and ran along the course for their training run. There were 7 feet high snow drifts and patches of ice but all that mattered was the sun was shining and runners could abandon the treadmill to run outside!

Next weekend is Daylight Savings Time.

The long, cold brutal winter of 2015 is almost behind us and my time to return to the roads beckoned to me yesterday.

The last time I ran was at the Miss Holiday Santa 5K back in December. My knee decided that I needed a wake up call to take a break from running and to build core, quad and hip flexor strength. I've been on my recumbent bike, doing a home workout on Sunday mornings, a plank a day, and in the pool at Aquatics Therapy at Spaulding Rehab. I looked at Tom yesterday morning and said, "I have to get out there today. I have to see if I'm ready." We decided on a 1.4 mile very easy paced race walk from Cleveland Circle to Marathon Sports and back.

I layered and wore my 2009 Boston Marathon jacket. What medicine for my soul to be out again on the roads among the running community. We high-fived and cheered on runners as we passed or as they passed us. The intensity of marathon training waned in the wake of sheer joy and feeling that Spring will arrive in Boston. I just happened upon this video posted by Kevin Koncilja who is running Boston for TeamMR8 that captures the spirit of the day:

Post by Kevin Koncilja.

"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know that the world hadn't ended." ~Batman in the Dark Knight

We were all celebrating that the world hadn't ended despite words like snowmaggedon or snowpocalypse to describe what we had lived through this winter. Everyone was polite as they announced whether they were passing on the right or left and one runner put his hand gently on my arm and said, 'thank you' as he ran by. Everyone was energized living in the moment leaving the winter of 2015 behind and moving forward to the Boston Marathon and Spring. Despite the toll that this winter took on everyone, runners kept the Unicorn in their sights and the causes that are near and dear to their hearts and went the distance.

I felt as though I could have kept on going past the 1.4 miles we chose for my entry back into running. I'm a month ahead of schedule feeling strong in my body. The combination of cross training and my work with Joseph at Sollievo Massage and Bodywork is paying dividends as I return to the sport and community I adore.

Yesterday is a day I won't soon forget. I'm so glad that I listened to the promptings of my body, my heart and soul to get back out there and to take my first run along the Marathon course.

Superheroes and Springtime pack a powerful punch to the doldrums that old man winter brought this year.

Journey well!

"Journey Well" and all of my inspirational books are available on Amazon.

"Journey Well" is a book about resilience, strength, courage and how we are able to journey well no matter what conditions life hands to us. I profile the people who are Boston Stronger and share how 4/15/13 was a wake up call to me to return to my healing path from contracting paralytic polio at age 5 and 9 years of domestic violence as a child and adolescent.



50% of all book proceeds are donated to AccesSportAmerica where people of all ages and abilities achieve higher function and fitness through high challenge sports and training.