Well, Christmas is wrapping up, and it is time to get ready for the New Year. It was great having Megan back home for good. She actually got to help Sarah make sugar cookies for Christmas! I helped too…I was willing to eat them! Delicious! We also welcomed 2 additional members to the family this year–Dobby and Dakota!
Here Nick is with Dakota! She is getting bigger every day! She had a ball tearing around the house while we were opening presents. She had fun with the paper!
Here is Megan with her dog, Dobby. A rescue lab/pointer mix who is almost 3 years old already. He is getting used to being a part of the family as well. He was very intimidated by me to start with. I am not sure what kind of an owner who had him before, but we don’t think he was treated very well. If you have a dog, and are not going to be kind to it, then it is better to give them up to someone who will care about them.
As you can tell, we are now good friends. He just had to know that somebody was going to care for him, and that he was not going to go anywhere anymore. Time for them to have a new beginning, with a New Year as well. The weather changed some of our plans as well, and we will be seeing Sarah’s side of the family this next weekend, and then my other daughter, Molly, and son-in-law Tanner, will be around then too! It was tough not having them around over Christmas!
Of course, Sarah and I were out on Christmas getting in our run. The trails were for the most part pretty clear, so we could be off of the road. Will have to see after this weekend how much snow we get. It will be a challenge again, but we do this every Winter. It was very neat going for a run on Christmas. All of the trees were frosted, and there was some fog. The winds were actually pretty calm as well.
What was really nice was the peace and quiet. Every holiday season gets busy, and you just need to slow down…and take the time to slow down! I was reminded of this with the bench out in Jackson Park.
Take the time to sit and think. Think about 2020 coming. What changes do you have in mind? What changes need to be kept in mind? What are you going to do to take care of yourself? Who/what is important in your life? Keep focused on those things, and create goals that actually have some meaning to you. Don’t just make a New Year’s resolution, but make a lifestyle change that will have a direct impact on your life! Take care of you, and stay active, so you have more time to spend with your friends and family not only during the holidays, but everyday! Keep moving everybody!
This weekend we made it down to Sioux Falls for the Reiffenberger Christmas get together. Unfortunately, there were several who could not make due to illness, including my daughter Molly and my son-in-law Tanner. Molly came down with the stomach flu early Saturday morning. We will luckily be getting back together later next week when we go to Huron for Christmas for Sarah’s side of the family. In between, we will be home, and celebrating. And, there really is no place like home for the holidays. Time spent with the rest of the family is great, as we don’t get together that often. But now with our kids grown, we will be starting our own holiday traditions in our home. Another chapter about to begin! Some day we will have grandkids involved!!
We all gathered at my mom’s house. She has been in that house now for the last 50 years. I grew up there, and it still holds many great memories for me! It always feel like home yet! She is still on her own, and doing well. Hopefully this continues as well! It was great seeing many of my nieces and nephews, and now their kids. It is always fun watching the look on the kids faces when they are ripping open presents!
My niece Jess, with her son Finn. That is my brother Ray, the oldest, in the background.
Finn and Keegan…brothers! Always a ham for the camera!
We get as many of us crammed around the old ping pong table as we can when it comes time to eat, and open presents. Then rotate around when opening presents. This tradition began before my kids were even born, and my oldest are now 25!
It is always nice getting together to celebrate the holidays, and catch up on how everybody is doing! I am looking forward to next week when my kids will be coming home and celebrating at home with us, and carrying on our own traditions! It is great having Megan back home for good, and not worrying about plane trips, and the weather, who can get here and who can’t!
Sarah and I are looking forward to those traditions carrying on what we started with our kids. Amazing how fast time goes by! It still feels like our kids should be that little yet. Megan, Sarah, and I got our run in Saturday morning before we took off for Sioux Falls too! No excuses there either. You just have to plan and figure out how and when, and then relax and enjoy the rest of the holiday time!
Enjoy the holidays! Enjoy family time! Enjoy them for as long as you can, as time really does go by fast! Keep striving, keep surviving…keep living! Keep moving everybody!
I have a special group of people that I run with, and even more important, they are people I can call friends. A few of them are part of my direct family, but the rest are a part of my running family. Today we met at Caribou for coffee, and exchange gifts for Secret Santa. We may have met for coffee…but it really had nothing to do about coffee. It was a time to get together, after our run, and just talk, and laugh! The coffee was just added bonus to it all. The following pictures of us just having a good time!
It was a great day to start off the morning, even when the wind chill was well below zero. Yes, we ran, and we like to run, and that is what keeps us coming back for more. But it is the friendships we make along the way that keeps us all going. Here we are all just posing for the camera!
Now, a couple people that I would say are originals for the run club were not able to make it today. Tom Beaudry, and Paula Nurnberg. Believe me, you were both there in discussion today! How could we possibly meet as a group and not have you two come up in the discussion! There were many others that are part of the group as well who have joined along the years, and had other activities going on as well. We will just have as many of us to meet as we can each time. One thing is for sure, there will be more times as well. The more of us there, the better. Maybe not to Caribou as we kind of take over the place, but hey, we are buying things there!
Cheers to you especially Tom. We have been running together for many years!!!! Runs just are not the same when you are not there. We have been through many marathons and training programs together. Many a run we have spilled our guts out to each other helping to solve problems. No amount of words can describe all the benefits that those runs have provided over the years! The last couple of weeks you have been running again, working your way back recovering from your foot injury. We both make quite the pair with injuries and illness this year. Let’s hope 2020 brings much more fun, and run times, and not health/injury times! Old running partners are always around for each other. I want to keep it this way, and look forward to many more years ahead! Thanks for all of the good times, and runs Tom! Keep moving everybody!
Every year, the holidays come around, and it can be both good and bad. Good in that you get to spend time with family and friends, but bad because everybody gets caught in the hustle and bustle of the season. We forget what the holidays are really supposed to be about, and it creates more stress for all of us. It is also a tough time for people if they have lost people close to them, as it is a reminder of the holidays coming, and those loved ones won’t be around. Remember what the holidays are about! What is the reason for having them? Having faith makes it easy to remember the true meaning behind the holidays, especially Christmas. But those times are even more important when you get to spend it around those that are most important to you!
I have gotten to spend the last 29 years of them with Sarah. Do I really need any other reason? For others, it is more stressful than ever, and you need to learn how to manage that stress.
The last one, be true to yourself! Keep everything in perspective. Go with the flow! Enjoy life, and this ride we are on. Truly say no if it is too much. You do not have to do everything. Many times those things we think that we absolutely have to get done, really do not need to be done at all. Take a deep breath. This is also a perfect time to go do some exercise, and blow off some steam, and get our minds cleared and ready to tackle what is really important.
With days like we are having this weekend, it is nice enough to go out and enjoy the weather yet. The cold is really going to hit next week again, which adds even more stress to the holidays. Take the weather as it comes. You can’t do anything about it anyway! Make alternative plans. Work out inside. Do inside activities in general. For those of us who have lived in SD our whole lives, it is no different than any other year! Tis the season! We are from SD. We are tough! The snow also adds more holiday spirit to everything as well. So be happy! These next several pictures are all members of our run club. We are just happy to get out to go run, and spend time with friends. The weather is just something we deal with everyday. As long as you are wearing the right clothing, you can tolerate anything!
Take each day as it comes. Enjoy the holidays, and for what they truly mean. The bottom line–be happy!
Spend time with those that matter the most to you! Celebrate well, but together. Don’t create stress where it really does not need to be. As long as you have family, and friends, what more do you need!
Family time! Nothing more really needs to be said! Keep moving everybody!
We have kept the Reiffenberger tradition going once again to run in the Annual Turkey Day 5k here in Watertown on Thanksgiving. It is always a great way to start the day! “If you want to eat, first you have to move your feet!”
Each year brings different reasons to reflect on for what I am thankful for. This year is no exception. I actually am physically able to run now, which I am definitely thankful for. My daughter Megan is back home from Virginia for good, which no words can describe this! My mom’s birthday was also on Thursday, which makes Thanksgiving even more special. Then, another reason to be out for this event is because it is a great way to support the community, and Watertown DASH!
Nick also made it home for Thanksgiving, and Molly and Tanner made it up later that afternoon. They ran a Turkey Day 5k in Marshall, MN! Everybody got home!
Many of our Watertown Area Run Club members also made it, and we were all out to support a good cause, and to be hanging out with friends. It was a good time to be catching up with some of them as well.
Now, one of the best things I like about this holiday is the food! I love to eat, so I have to keep moving my feet so I earn it. It starts off with the pie at the finish line!
But you have to walk/run the race first. We had another good turnout! Here we are crossing the start line!
Now, I may be running, but the pie was on my mind. And, we were having Sarah’s parents, and sister, over for Thanksgiving, so I knew the turkey and all of the “fixings” were something to work up an appetite for!
My favorite meal! We had already ran, so it was time to indulge a little. We had earned it! If you keep moving, then you can splurge once in a while. That is what life it all about. Enjoy the things as they come, but work on it in between as well. Nothing comes easy! This food tastes even better when you have worked up an appetite!
Here is the rest of the WARC members who came that day! We all earned our meal that day. Now sit back and think about things. What are you thankful for? What has been provided to you in your life now? Good, bad, work, relax…and enjoy! Appreciate what you have, and who you have in your life. And most of all, if you have your health, be extra grateful! You can never take anything for granted, or assume something, or someone, is always going to be there going forward. Live life to the fullest! Strive to Survive. Be thankful…and keep moving everybody!
