This weekend we went to Fargo to join in on the annual Wonder Woman run! Sarah and a bunch of the other girls from the run club ran the half marathon, and I ran the 5k…as the “husband of Wonder Woman”. It was a fun weekend to spend with my “wonder woman”! The weather was very hot and humid, which made all of those who ran the half marathon even more incredible. The next several pictures are ones we took of the group from Watertown.
It was a fun weekend Sarah, Paula, Amanda, Tracy, and Karla. I thought it was tough enough doing the 5k, and you “wonder women” all did the half marathon. Way to go!
We even ran into Elvis!
Here is the finish line where Kevin and I were waiting afterwards for all of the girls from Watertown to finish. Everybody was cheering everyone who came across.
Here I am finishing the 5K. All things considered, I felt pretty good. The heat was definitely tough, and I am more conscious now than ever about having to keep drinking and staying hydrated with what happened to my right kidney. I am not pushing past the 5k for a while, and if over 80’s, I am not running. I am not going to push it yet.
Here Sarah just finished. She was wiped! The heat and humidity took its toll. I was just glad she had finally finished. Now we were waiting for the rest of our group to come across. One for all, and all for one! Everyone did just fine. It was not a day to set records, but it was a day to just enjoy the activities associated with it. It was a record of sorts for me. I ran faster than I thought I was able to, and felt overall pretty good. It has been one tough road up to this point, and I definitely have a long ways to go yet. I was just told Friday that the hole in my heart is not sealed by the procedure they did in March. They had a group discussion, and recommend that I give it another 3 months to allow more scarring of the device I had placed to seal the hole. If it is still leaking at that time, I need to go back and start again by having another device placed. Patience…patience…patience. I will just need to see what time is going to bring. But, one thing is for sure…
…I will have my Sarah at my side…”My Wonder Woman”, because I am the “Husband of Wonder Woman!” Thank you for all you do for me. Thanks for helping me get through these last 3 months, and to help keep me motivated for what may come in the future. I am relying on your “super powers” to help me. You truly are Wonder Woman…a great mom, a great wife, a great doctor who will do anything for your patients. I don’t know how you juggle at this stuff. You truly are a “Wonder”, and I am just glad you are with me! For all you guys out there…realize and appreciate your “Wonder Woman”! Keep moving everybody!
The road of life bring many challenges, and many changes. You learn to adapt, and go with it, or you suffer longer from the consequences. For all of you out there who do exercise, you have undoubtedly suffered some injury or setback of some kind, at some time in your life. The timing is never good. Nobody ever wants to be hurt, or be held back from doing the things they enjoy. But, welcome to life. Recovering from injury, or health issues, really puts things in perspective. We are human, and we have weaknesses. It can be frustrating, depressing, maddening…going through every emotion you can experience. By the time all is said and done, hopefully you have grown, learned something, and appreciate truly how precious things are in life that we often times take for granted.
Sometimes, you have to just take a deep breath, after all the anger comes out, take another deep breath, and then figure out how to go after it again. It can be easy to feel defeated. But if you let it, you will feel even more defeated later. Some things come up that we truly have no control over. We have to listen to our bodies, because it is telling us something. It may not be what you want to hear, but ultimately you may not have any choice.
Relax, take a deep breath, get you mind back on track, and then you can start getting your body back on track. I guess I have to listen to what I tell my patients all of the time: “Now you know why we call you patients!” You have to be patient with the process. You have to be patient that in the long run things will get back to a “comfortable normal” for you again. There will be ups and downs, but overall, we hopefully keep making progress forward.
I have Sarah by my side! I need her to help motivate me. I need her to help keep me on track. I need her…just because I need her!
Each day can bring new challenges for all of us…good and bad! Our attitude is what separates the people who succeed from those who fail. We choose how to deal with it. We choose what decisions to make. We choose…I choose, what my attitude is going to be like going forward. Things are going to be changing again soon. I need to hang with it, and be “patient”.
I am going to follow Sarah. It has always worked for me in the past. Be flexible. Be patient. Be trusting. I am going to do my best to keep moving…forward. Just like you should! Keep moving everybody!
Happy Father’s Day to all you Dad’s out there! All the stress of raising kids: I wonder if I made the right decisions? I wonder if I was too strict, or not strict enough? Did I teach my kids something good that they will remember for a long time, or even forever? Do my kids know how much I love them? How many times I look back and wonder how I could have done something different. No manual came with this job. The majority of the time I was flying by the seat of my pants. I had a family to support, a career to juggle, and so many other stresses involved with this I would not even know where to begin. Hopefully, I did not make any major screw-ups. Every parent wants their kids to know you love them, and care about them, but you also had to be disciplined as well. How were they going to learn the right way? Out of all of the things I have accomplished in my life, I think the biggest thing I want to be remembered for the most is being a “Dad”. Many guys can be a Father, but not everybody can be a Dad. And still yet, many of you guys out there have been unable to have kids of their own, but that does not mean they are not “like a Dad” to someone else!
Last month Nick graduated from college, and my three kids were back together. Boy, was that great! I often times find myself looking back at pictures from the past and can remember exactly what things were like at that moment again. Memories you have forever! There may come a time with age that my memory won’t be as good as it once was, but hopefully I will never forget all the good times we had together. We are a family!
Sarah and I have a lot of time, effort, money…and love invested in them. We both want them all to be successful, and to eventually have their own families. I told them often I want to see how they do with their kids! But then I will get to be a Grandpa then too! More memories. We always keep active yet, and go to races together, as you have seen many times on previous blog posts by me. Running has been so important to me, and hopefully to them as well.
My daughter Megan gave me this shirt last year, so I wore it to our Run Club on Father’s Day today. “I’m a Runner Dad. Just like a normal Dad, except much cooler!” Yay! Hopefully this will always be the case! Megan sent me this picture in the mail that came this week:
One thing will always be true: I love being a Dad, and I love my kids! I may not continue to tell them enough, but I am proud of all of them, and the adults they have become. I will always be their Dad. I will always worry about them! I will always love them! Happy Father’s Day to all you Dad’s out there! Keep moving everybody!
Yesterday was the 23rd Anniversary of the Hospital Hill Run/Walk. Once again, it was a good turnout. The initial plan from the beginning of its inception was to encourage people to get out and exercise, and especially with the kids. We wanted them to learn early on the importance of staying active, and that you could have fun with this. That is why we have numerous age categories, especially for the younger ones, to get them more motivated to participate. It is easier to get them out when they have a chance to win a medal. We also moved up the age category this year to anyone 12 and younger (previously 10 and under) all received a medal for participating. The looks on their faces when they come up to pick up their medals is worth it! We want them getting out and staying active. The biggest lessons they can learn about his is from their parents. I love seeing all these young families out running or walking with their kids, or pushing them in strollers, etc. I just want them out there teaching them the importance of an active lifestyle, and the best way to do it is by setting the tone, and getting out there along with them! So a special shout out to all you parents for working on this. Nobody said it was easy.
My daughter Molly and her fiancée Tanner were out running as well. My kids have been a part of this since the beginning of this. They participated every year, and then when they got a little older, they helped me set up everything, and were great at helping with prizes, awards, setting up, and taking down. They were involved from the beginning. It is nice to have them come back. I don’t get them all back every year, but they can when they are able, and we are participating in other races during the year as well. They learned from the start. I have told Tanner that participating in these fun runs is what being a part of this family is about. We have gone out to Virginia and ran some with Megan and Nate also. That is what this family does, and that is what this family will always do!
The McElroy’s are todays version of what we started over 20 years ago. I love watching their kids out running. It reminds me so much of my kids way back when. They learn from us. We have to be willing to put in the work too!
We have the Sullivan family out, Kris Munger and her daughter, and Cassandra Varilek and her family out running! Lead by example! Prove to your kids how important it is to be active, and take charge of your own health, and be out there pounding the pavement and sweating right along with them. You will start making memories that will last a lifetime! We talk about those times often! Each race/event has its own special qualities that make them unique! Explore them together! I lost count on the amount of the strollers out there yesterday. It brings back the days when we would walk/run with our kids in the Burley back then! They loved it, and we got to all be active and do our things, and do it together!
You have to show up in order to take off! Teach them how to do it. Show them how important it really is. Set the tone, and lead by example. It benefits both you and your kids, and you all have the opportunity to improve your health…and to make memories to last a lifetime! The only time it is too late is when you are not here anymore. The earlier you start with your kids, the sooner it becomes a habit…for all of you. Keep pushing! Keep trying! Keep moving everybody!
It has been 2 months, and I got to start running again this last week! It is tough, but boy does it feel good! You don’t know how much you can miss something until you don’t have it anymore. I have only been going 2 miles at a stretch, and I am tired after this, but each day keeps getting better. So far, it has either been with Sarah or with our run group. One of these days, I will have to venture out on my own again…as long as Sarah lets me! The walking has been good too, but it is not the same as running. Both allow me to relax, and think, and just let my mind wander, but to me, it is just easier to be distracted from that thinking time with walking because it is so much slower. When I am running on my own, it is just my thoughts, and my breathing. Time to solve my days problems, and figure out what I could have done better that day, or if it was in the morning, what could I have done better yesterday, and what do I have to work on more today. We are never perfect, and we will always make mistakes. But, you keep trying, and you keep pushing. We all have room for improvement. Life is all about struggles, some bigger than others. But you keep coming back, and you try to get your life back on track for what is as close to normal for you as it can get.
Some of the walks in the evening along the lake when the sun is starting to set, and the trees are all coming to life…it can take your breath away some times. You literally feel like you are coming back to life. And for me, I am! The last week I had all my kids home, and it is nice to once again have home feel like it used to. Sarah and I have been adjusting to the empty nest now for awhile, but it is nice having the kids home. It is really tough when they leave, and is especially tough when Megan leaves because we don’t get to see her very often with her living in Virginia. We talk and or text every day, multiple times, but it is not the same. The one evening she was home we were out sitting in front of the fire pit, and just talking. Talking about life in general, and going over the goals each of us has, and what adventures, struggles, fun life may have in store for us going forward. That is what makes life interesting. It is always different, and rarely does it always goes as planned. You have to be ready to adapt, and make adjustments on the fly. I realize that more than ever now. When your own mortality comes into check, it tends to put a whole different perspective on things. We are not going to live forever. Don’t waste any of it! Make your days fulfilling and fun. Keep setting those goals, and trying to achieve more. Keep learning, and trying new things. That is where the running helps me…it literally helps me slow down time so that I can put my head around things, and figure life out, and plan on where or what I want to do next.
With my kids, there are always challenges that come up. Did we raise them right? Did we teach them to be responsible adults? Did we teach them the important things in life? We certainly instilled the benefits of keeping active, and being responsible for your own health. We all need to do that. That is the struggle many times in clinic. You try to help somebody, and encourage them to exercise, and eat better, but some days it is like banging your head on the wall! I can talk, talk, talk, but it only goes so far. That is still the main reason of working on another exercise streak, and why my last one was so important to me. I was trying to show that it could be done, and with no excuses. At least excuses for not doing it. There were always days where some complaining came into play. The weather, and all of the obligations to get done for the day always play a factor. But they were just minor “road blocks” that get in the way, at least if you let them.
Zeus sure loves having everybody home as well. More hugs, time spent with the kids, and more people for him to protect! But, he still gets to spend time with Sarah and I!
I will start going with him alone now too this week. Before, I did not go alone with him just because of his size, and trying to keep control with the leash. I was limited on how much lifting I could do, but it is now time to get back to normal here too!
Now is also the time for Sarah and I to spend more quality time together too. We did not always get that luxury before, but things have changed now. We have to make that time. We don’t know what time will bring going forward. We may not have as much time as we think we do. Never take it for granted. Keep yourself motivated to take care of yourself. The potential longer term benefits of this are truly priceless!
How true, how true! For me anyway. You all need to find out what the magic pill may be for you! Don’t give up trying. Life is too short to not keep trying. As I have written before, only you can find the answer to the question: “What is your why?” Discover your reasons why you want to be around, and then figure out what you can do to help with it. You can’t rely on new medical breakthroughs, science, or new pills for this or that. You have to meet it halfway and work on it too. Keep striving. Keep moving…everybody! Keep moving!!!!
