Life brings all kinds of challenges, some good, some bad. The same can go for the results. Life is like a roller coaster, with a lot of ups and downs, but there are always new experiences to be had. When the kids were little, we always had them with us when we would go to races. They were either spectators, or participants, but they were always with us. These pictures of them with their special made T-shirts were always a hit for me. I would come running by, and they would be cheering and yelling, and their shirts cheering me on: “Go Dad Go”. These are memories I will always cherish.
Now that they are older, I thought things would get easier to deal with. Wrong! As they get bigger, the problems get bigger. Sarah and I always worry about them. No matter what, they are still our “little kids”. Now that they are all 21 or older, we worry as to whether on not we did a good enough job raising them. We hope they appreciate what we did for them, and provided for them. But, we also want them to know how hard you have to work for the things you have. Nobody is going to just hand it to you. You have to earn it. We always were active, and wanted them to be active with us. You have to learn to take care of yourselves, and not rely on somebody else to do it for you. One of my daughters just texted me this week saying: “Ugh! This adulting is so stressful!” Yes it is!
We took them to our marathons that I was in, and tried to make it a vacation for all of us! I needed my personal cheerleaders with me!
We taught them young how important it is to keep active, and they continued with this as they grew up, whether running or swimming!
Our vacations included trips where we would go hiking, and exploring, and get to see things we would not have seen otherwise. We had fun doing it to! We did this as a family!
Last year we had them all back at the same time, and with boyfriends and finacees too! If you are going to be a part of this family, you will have to be active with us. We all were getting ready to do the Hump Day 5k run!
One thing will always be. I may be a doctor, and Sarah may be a doctor, but the biggest thing we want to be remembered for when we are gone is that we were a good Mom and Dad! That is what I would be most proud of. We may not have always done things right. After all, it did not come with an instruction manual. We had to learn this on the fly. We did the best we could, and hopefully it will pay off for them. That does not mean you quit worrying about them. When school struggles get tough, or work issues get tough, or just life in general gets tough, I hope they all know we are there for them. We love you guys! We want you to be successful. We want you to be healthy! We want you to be happy! Just like the back of your shirts told me at those races you were cheering me on with:
We love you too!
Keep moving everybody! Enjoy all that life brings you, the ups and downs, and learn from them!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3917
