Several weeks ago, I repealed a personal law: Thou shalt not run. Although what I do may not look like real running to some, believe me, compared to my movement beforehand this is definitely more than a walking pace. The reason I am broadcasting this is to underscore the importance of "never say never".

Was this an inspired act or simply temporary insanity? It was a little of both, I suppose, but now this running business is starting to take hold on a regular basis, with me placing running shoes and socks in a reminder spot by the kitchen door. I no longer wonder whether homo sapiens were ever intended for this activity.

My never intended but sudden urge to pick up the pace was in response to literally tripping over a long lost friend at a high school reunion. In a single afternoon's conversation, she inspired me to think differently about a lot of things, including enjoying the capabilities of my aging body, going beyond my original intentions. Up to that time, I had been gradually getting stronger over a period of months, picking up speed while enjoying the benefits of better sleep and appreciated "think time" out on the path. Instead of begrudging the time slot as I originally had, I now looked forward to it. A shift in mindset was taking place; the positive was bumping out the negative. One evening , a funny thing happened; my pace was a little quicker than usual, I was feeling good and almost before I realized what was happening, I had trotted a quarter of a mile. I was heading into new and exciting territory.

I was rushing to grab a soda at my high school reunion when I foolishly fell over the foot rest of someone's wheel chair. Pulling myself back together and apologizing profusely, I looked into the face of my old girlhood friend, Sherry B. Her grin was as generous as ever and so was her demeanor. We warmed to each other as though little more than a couple of months had passed since we had last seen each other, not the actual decades. Of course, we had both changed but Sherry's transformation was the most remarkable on so many levels. A Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis in her early twenties had made a deep physical impact but she was also now a profound philosopher as I was about to find out.

Sherry had always been a forthright and enthusiastic girl and it was a delight to see that her character had not waned. She regaled me with a colorful prcis of her life happenings. Then in turn, she was full of questions about my family and life in general. When she heard that I currently was on contract with an incontinence products company, she leaned over and seized my arm. "That's another thing we have in common, sister. Adult diapers.", she said, rolling her eyes. Sherry told me of coming to grips with the fact that incontinence was going to be a part of her own life just as her youngest child was moving out of the diaper stage. Frightening and humiliating were the words she used. Then she told me of a Dolly Parton quote on her fridge door: "We cannot change the direction of the wind, but we can adjust the sails." "So," she said, "I have been busy taking sailing lessons these past years."

Any of that half empty glass philosophy I had been embracing was embarrassed right out of me. I was aging normally and even had some genetic inheritance that was naturally holding a number of unpleasant possibilities at bay. Yet I could be aggravated by an ill timed sneeze that threatened to send me to the changing room. That is a far cry from needing adult diapers but it is a gentle reminder of what a short trip that could be for some.

Incontinence was an indignity that Sherry's disease forced her to cope with far too early in life. Normally, if and when women experience incontinence, it is the result of deteriorating muscle tone due to the aging process. Such is the unfair lot of many female bodies; minute sphincter muscles are their bladders' lonely gate keepers between dry and wet. Childbearing, impact exercises (think jumping jacks and running) and aging can all be agents of incontinence. While it is certainly not that every woman is going to have to resort to adult diapers, statistics show that of the more than 25 million Americans who experience degrees of urinary incontinence, somewhere between 75 and 80 percent are women. Such staggering figures as these mean a lot of people out there would benefit from Sherry's sailing lessons.

Sherry and I stay in touch these days through FaceBook, determined not to let silence overtake the distance that separates us. She is the one who encouraged me to break into my slow little trot. I now tilt my head back and watch the clouds when I am sure of my footing. There is pleasure in that. Also I find I breathe a little easier this way and I am not obsessing about how far I have yet to go. I sent her a little FB post about this experience and she replied with two helpful pieces of advice: "Set your sails and catch the wind. And don't forget to buy a decent bra.