My daughter Molly got married this weekend! What a great day! It was a first for me in many things: First child to be married, so then first time walking a child down the aisle, and first Father/Daughter dance. My head is still spinning. With everything that has gone on with my health since the end of March, I am just glad I got to be here to be able to walk Molly down the aisle…one of my bucket list items. It was even better that I imagined it would be. The emotions were coming out then, and the tears as well. I was so excited and happy to walk her down, and give her away to the man she was meant to be with. I wore the tie clip Molly gave me the day before her wedding. The outside part said “Father of the Bride”, and the back side said, “I loved you first”. That set the tone!
Sarah and I were smiles all day long. The day had finally come.
The girls did not get much sleep the night before. Megan helped to try and keep Molly calm, but again, the emotions and anticipation were running high. Megan was her Maid of Honor, and Megan gave a great heartfelt speech at the reception as well.
My mom made it up from SF, and Sarah’s parents came from Huron. We were all smiles, and we had a perfect day for weather for pictures!
And then, the moment came! All of these past years where I wrote about staying healthy, and exercising, and that as long as I had control, I was going to be around for my family. All of that changed in March. I had no control over my health at that moment. I was worried I was not going to be here. I was so thrilled to be able to be here, to walk my Molly down the aisle, and just be here for her, and be here for my family, and to be here for me! There was no holding back the tears anymore. They were not tears of sadness, but tears of total happiness. That is what life is about. Making those forever memories, and spending time with your family and friends.
This is a good portion of my total family. Not everybody was able to make it. Missing some nieces and nephews, and their families. And of course, my Dad was missing. He has been gone now for a little over 5 years, but I believe he was watching us that day, and had a smile on his face, proud of what he helped create! Make time for your family. Be there for your family. We never know how long each of us are going to be on this earth. Don’t waste it. And like I have always said, control the things you can control, and be healthy, watch what we eat, and keep exercising. Other factors we cannot control. Somebody will miss you when you are gone! Keep moving everybody!
It just seems like yesterday that we would load up the kids and go and travel somewhere for a race. Here I am with Molly at Grandmas marathon one year. They were always there as a cheerleader for me in those early days. Now, as the week goes on, Molly will be getting married this coming Saturday. Married? Already? They were just this little, weren’t they? I have been doing a lot of looking at pictures these last few weeks, getting things ready for slide shows. A lot of fond memories, good times, and I have to admit, some tears coming too. Can she be this old already?
Some things never change though…always on the phone! I loved their response the one time when Sarah and I were on call for the weekend, and the girls were about 2 1/2. The phone rang, and both of them stopped right in their tracks from what they were doing. One said: “Uh oh!”, and the other one followed that and said: “Shit!” I don’t remember who said what, but I had a talk with Sarah after that discussing with her that she would need to start watching her language when the phone rang! Hee Hee!
They were enough of those times when they got sick too! At least with both of us being a doctor, we could take care of them. That did not stop Molly the one time though. She wanted to call her doctor, Dr. Peskek. I told her I did not know the number. She said, “No problem…it is on speed dial!” Here we are demonstrating the benefit of ice and alcohol for teething. Some of the older docs at one time stated that is what they would suggest to use for teething. My first thought was, am I supposed to rub this on their gums to help relieve the pain? No! It had nothing to do with the kids. I was supposed to have a glass of ice, and pour alcohol in it, and drink it! It may not have helped with their teething, but I sure felt better!
But then, just like that, they are no longer toddlers. They got big, fast! We were so busy with them during those school years, everything still seems like a blur! The Disney trips were always great. I don’t know who had more fun, them, or me! But, I will say, watching them have fun definitely made me feel great!
Then poof! She was in High School! She took after us with the running, and was in Cross Country and Track! If was great watching her at meets during those years. If is more fun now being able to run some of these races now with the kids. We have done 5k’s, and half marathons. They will all be home this coming week and we will be doing the Hump Day 5K as a family!
And then, just like that, she was engaged to Tanner! She is very lucky, and we are very lucky, to be having him become a part of our family. And now, in less than a week, it will become official! I have told Tanner before that if he was wanting to become a part of this family, then he would need to pick up running!
And he has! Here Molly and Tanner are running in the Hospital Hill 5k we just had in June. This is just one of many they have run. We have run quite a few with Megan and Nate as well. Like I told them both, they need to run if they are going to become part of the Reiffenberger family!
This was from last year. In the blink of an eye, they have all grown up! This coming week we will all be together, spending time with each other, and taking more pictures as a family. You cannot slow down time, and if it were to stop for somebody, then they are no longer here. With everything I had going on this Spring, I am just so thankful that I am going to get to walk my Molly down the aisle this week! I am not sure I am going to be able to hold it together. Every time I start thinking about it, I get choked up again! Love your kids, and appreciate all the time you do have with them. Do things together, be active together, explore together. One day, “Poof”, they will be old enough to be out of the house! No matter what, I am still “Dad”, and nothing will ever change that! Keep moving everybody!
Happy National Twins Day/Weekend to my twin brother Don, and to my twin daughters Molly and Megan. My brother and I went to Kindergarten in Watertown, going to Roosevelt School, back in 1970. We then moved to SF the following year and grew up there. I was attracted back to Watertown after all those years ago, coming back in 1994 to begin practicing medicine at Brown Clinic. Lots of memories over those years of things we did growing up.
When you are an identical twin, you tend to stand out in a crowd. The thing I loved the most was that there was always somebody to do something with. You never had to be alone. Sometimes that is both good and bad, but mostly good! Don lives in Parker, SD, where he is a Lutheran minister, having previously taught elementary/special education for many years. We will still have people see him in Watertown, or me in Parker, and think they are seeing the other one! Some things never change!
There are still many similarities, especially if one of us wears glasses versus contacts! But one thing is still for sure…there will always be a bond with my twin brother like no other. We are like 120 miles away, and sometimes this seems like a different country. We both are busy with family and our lives, that we don’t spend nearly as much time together as we used too.
This is the most recent picture of the two of us. Back in May we were in SF for the Breast Cancer run/walk. He ran this one, I walked. Still always great to do things together…we just need to make more time for it in the future! Then I was lucky enough to be a Dad of twins as well. My girls though are not identical. They too were always an attraction wherever we went with them, right from the beginning!
They were a handful right out of the blocks! They were our first kids, and we did not know what having one was like, so it might as well have been two! It was never a dull moment. Watching them grow up I saw so many similarities with how things were with my brother. Once again, you always have a friend, somebody to do something with, yet with them not being identical, they had a little more freedom of trying to be their own individual. Again, both good and bad. They also still had somebody to get into trouble with as well!
Some of those days are still kind of a blur with how busy everything was. I would not trade it for anything!
The smiles still keep coming. I have their picture when they were babies hanging in my office: Why was I chosen to be a Father of twins! It refers to having two to take care of, two to get in trouble, two to get out of the mud, etc. But the bottom line was that at the end of the day, there were two to love! That is why I was chosen to be a Father of twins!
They have grown up fast. Really fast! In two short weeks Molly will be getting married, and Megan will be her Maid of Honor! Always together…always there for each other! That is what does not change about being a twin! Don and the rest of my family will also be in Watertown for this as well! Twins are unique, and I can definitely say twins are special…I may be a little biased here, but that is ok! We are all still active, and remember to exercise. My brother and I have run together, gone to do a marathon together, and the girls ran their first half marathon last year. They will all be here in the next 10 days, and we will be running the Hump Day 5K on August 14…as a family! I can’t wait!!!! Keep moving everybody!
It does not take long for the week to just get crazy. Some days seem endless, with a multitude of things to have to get done. It just never seems like there is enough time in the day. But, we all get 24 hours. Planning, and prioritizing, need to come into play. Saturday was a great example of how things can be when the weather cooperates. It was just a nice day to sit out in the shade, and relax. Relax, and let your mind wander. Let your body wind down and forget about all of the other commitments in life, and just take it easy. This week was actually very good for that as well.
One of the days that I took Zeus for a walk early in the morning, it was actually a little cool compared to the weather here lately. The fog was really thick over the lake and the golf course, and it was quiet. It just was a good time to relax and think…and Soothing…
My usual morning route is going by the lake. When the winds are calm, it is one of my favorite places to be. The birds are chirping. It is a great time to unwind, relax, and plan for the day. I would not trade it for anything!
Remember this! It is easy to get caught up in all of the pressures of life, but you have to keep yourself in mind as well. Take a deep breath, and just relax! It is amazing how much easier it is for things to fall into place when you remember this.
One of the other mornings this week it had been raining earlier, and a perfect rainbow came out over the lake. When you get scenery like this, you forget you are even out exercising. There is no comparison when it comes to where I would rather exercise at: outside, and along the lake, versus indoors on a treadmill. Indoors really does feel like work!
How true is this? The weekends just fly by, and the week drags on. So, make the most of your work day week, or week in general, and get out and move and enjoy the scenery. Let your mind wander, and think. You never know wheat ideas will develop, or how your plans can change…for the good!
So take a deep breath, start getting ready each day, and just go. Go exercise, but go and relax too. Here Zeus is helping Sarah stretch before we went running on Saturday. Even he knows he needs to learn to relax, and if you do, you will learn to enjoy life more! Take in what life all has to offer. All the adventures, new things to see, new things to experience. No two days are the same. Take advantage of them all!
You know there are going to be things that come up that are stressful, and just down right crazy. Accept it! Plan on it! Develop a plan for how you are going to deal with it, and if things are anticipated, then you know how to deal with it, and it won’t be such a big deal! Get in the exercise routine, and learn to go with the flow. Enjoy life, and appreciate all it has to offer. None of us know everything, so there is always something to learn. There is always something else to experience as well. Strive to Survive! Take a deep breath, and Just Relax, and enjoy the ride! Keep moving everybody!
There are always challenges to trying to exercise. But, even more, there are excuses. I have made plenty of them myself as well. You can try to come up with anything feasible, at least in your mind, not to go exercise. But I have found that once I get going, and then especially when I get done, I feel much better, and I am glad I did it! It needs to become a habit to get to this point. It can’t feel like a chore all of the time, or you will never do it. There are definitely those days when exercise feels like a chore. It is inevitable. But there are more good days than bad days. Yesterday was a good example. It was the Run Around Kampeska Half Marathon. It was delayed for an hour due to lightening, but then still rained through the majority of the race. That did not stop these people.
I am still coming back slow with the running, otherwise I would have been out there too. I was relegated to transport, water carrier, and photographer. I would rather be one of the runners! There are those other times when we have to contend with the heat.
You have to time your exercise, and go when it is cooler out. But, you also have to come up with creative ways to stay cool!
I could say Sarah was just going to help me cool off by throwing me in the lake, but I would be lying. I will never say no to her again!!! Hee Hee! But before you know it, it will be back to the cold and snow again!
You can still exercise outside, you just have to dress for it, and be more creative. Sometimes though, you just outright give up, and surrender!
One thing is for sure, it is always more enjoyable exercising with other people. It helps take your mind off things. It is still nice at times to work out on your own, but the group activities is much more fun. There are days when you just wonder why you even bother.
You can be so exhausted afterwards that you wonder why you even bothered. But, then later, when you are doing other activities, you have more energy, feel stronger, and have more endurance. Like I said, the good days still outweigh the bad days. We all want days when we feel like this:
So, go after it. If you are not exercising you are just falling back on another excuse. Make a decision, and go for it. Enjoy life to its fullest. Don’t take things for granted. I am finding out your health is not always going to be there. Control what you can, and then learn to deal what can’t be changed. You can still live your life to the fullest. Appreciate what you have when you do! Keep moving everybody!
