Sunday we are having a big Birthday party to celebrate Connor’s 2nd Birthday. His actual Birthday is on Monday. The kid is talking a mile a minute. His expressions are hilarious! Many of us will be there to help him celebrate. We had him over last weekend and spent the entire weekend laughing and playing. Never a dull moment with him. Spent lots of time at the parks and pulled him behind my bike in his Burley!
We also went on lots of walks using the Burley as well!
We spent time at the Lake, and he was constantly on the go, running up and down the docks at Jackson and City Park!
Of course, both Grandma Sarah and I got to spend lots of time reading to him too!
We are going to be having a big party with lots of cake for his Birthday. Of course, he has to stay in practice for this whenever he stays with us too!
I had forgotten how busy a 2 year can be. Go! Go! Go! I have to keep working out and running just to be able to try and keep up with him! Then when he crashes, he crashes! And so do we! Keep staying fit so you can keep up with your kids, or grandkids, or both. Don’t miss out on those opportunities. They are all great, and all create memories to last a lifetime! Keep moving everybody!
How many times in life do we say, “If I could just have a chance to do that over again!” We are all human. We all make mistakes. Once they are made, they are made. You can’t change what you did. But, you can make edits. You can learn from your mistakes and learn how to “Fail Forward”. There is a book by John Maxwell, Failing Forward, that talks a lot about the mistakes we make in life. We will continue to make mistakes. They key to it though is how do we learn from those mistakes. If we don’t learn from them, we will just keep repeating them again and again.
Life is full of surprises, and adventures. We need to be more like my grandson, Connor, and just take on everything with a smile and gusto. If he makes a mistake, or gets in trouble, or does not get his way, he will have a meltdown, and just lose it. But, several minutes later, he is right back to how he was before, smiling and carefree. We all need to have a short memory like him when it comes to our mistakes. Keep looking ahead, and to what exciting is coming up next!
Take time to sit back and enjoy what is right in front of you! Take the time to reflect on your life. We all have great things too, so don’t keep dwelling on our mistakes. Keep trying to learn from them and figure out how to keep trying to do things better in your life. Those reflections times really have come to significance in my life. It is my take to relax, learn from my mistakes, and figure out how to “edit my life”.
And don’t forget to spend time with those people who are important in your life, both family and friends. There is always room for “edits” when it comes to those people closest in your life. We all need to keep working on this. We are a work in progress. We always need to keep learning no matter how old we are.
When was the last time you went to a movie? Do you have any idea how many “edits” were made to that movie before it came to the big screen that you are watching it on? Too many to count! Life does not work that way. We make “edits” in our life after the facts. After the mistakes we make. After…We always need to keep learning from those mistakes in order for us to be able to become a better version of ourselves. Failing Forward! I love that concept! So, everybody, keep making continuous “edits” in your life. Keep “Failing Forward”. Keep living. And… keep moving everybody!
Happy Father’s Day to all of you Dads out there! Life has enough ups and downs, and it is no different for a father. Your kids are always your kids! You worry about them all of the time. You have to trust you did something right with them growing up that they will do the right thing. It still is nice when they have to call to talk to you because they want your opinion on something! Especially when they were teenagers, we did not know anything, and now we are incredibly smart once again.
When you have kids, eventually, your family will continue to grow. It grows when they get married, and then they start having kids. I still think being a “grandfather” totally rocks!!
It is nice to watch them become Father’s as well! Here Tanner is out in the field taking a break, and feeding Connor when he was a few months old! As a father/dad, you need to keep working to support your family, but you have to be around to support them with your time. I will say that is my regret over the years. As a physician, we were always busy taking care of other people. Sarah and I learned to tag team and take turns. When it gets to the time when we do retire, I hope to spend more time with them, and with my grandchildren, and make up for some of that lost time. The only problem is what is done, is done. I just heard something over the weekend that there are no do overs in life. You can make edits, and hopefully learn from things you did, both right and wrong. You just hope those do overs can make some difference!
I love this picture of my Dad. He was 18 years old when he was drafted. I am so proud of him! I lost him over 9 years ago, but not a day goes by that I don’t think about him. He set the tone. He was sterner when we were growing up, but there were 7 kids. Later I found out it was truly more bark than bite! He had a great sense of humor, and I like to think I got that from him!
This is one of the last family pictures we have of all of us when we all met in Watertown. They created quite the crew. My brothers and sister and I are in communication almost weekly. They did something right too! Thanks mom and dad!
This too is one of my favorite pictures. A little over a month after this was taken, my Dad passed away! For all of you out there who have lost their Dad, you know what I mean. You also know it is true that you think about them every day! I miss you, Dad! I will always love you! Things come up different every day in life, but when I hear from my kids, and find out it is good news, and that something is going well for them, nothing makes me happier. It may be Father’s Day, but really it should just be called “Dad’s Day”. Being a “Dad” to someone is what is most important. Especially to those who may not have any children of their own, you are a “Dad” to someone! Do not forget that honor! Do your best to live up to it. And remember, we all make mistakes. We can’t change those times, but we can “edit” them. Good luck! Happy Father’s Day! Keep moving everybody!
Another Hospital Hill run is in the books! The 26th Annual Event took place on Saturday. We had very good weather (rain held off!), and a great turnout! Tom Beaudry and I have been a part of it all these years. We started this event. A lot of things have changed over the years, but the main concept of why it was started has not. It was created as a way to get people out and move! To get some exercise and push each other. We especially love seeing the kids out there. The younger they start, the more they are involved in their own health.
My daughter Megan has come a long way over the years. They participated when they were little and helped me set things up all these years. Now she is winning her age group category!
Sarah has been involved all these years running as well. The hill…the great equalizer! We have never had a photo finish all of these years yet for the winner!
We had good representation from our run club as well. Many of us have done this every year! Rain, sun, wind…it does not matter. We have been lucky all of these years when it comes to the weather. We have run in rain before, but lightning would be the only thing that would delay or change things.
Lots of work the day of the event, but much more work behind the scenes getting ready for the event. It literally takes all of us, and volunteers the day of, to keep the event going. We had the police department, and Ham radio operators out helping control traffic. We want everyone to have fun, but we want it to be safe for everyone as well.
Sue Beaudry is always out there working for the event as well. Thanks Sue!
Jill Makepeace and her brother Steve Arbogast are regular Hospital Hill participants. Thanks for coming out and participating every year!
Prairie Dog was out trying to get everybody fired up. He got a workout too with the heat in that costume! We all have a job to do. Great cheerleader!
And they are off! Runners, walkers…anybody can participate! The goal is to get out and move. Get your kids started early. That work ethic goes a long way for their future.
Everybody is eyeing that finish line when they get to the top of the hill. That is the goal. Finish! We all have things in life we need to keep working on and finish. Nothing comes easy. If we want it, we have to work for it. That is why exercise carries over so much in regard to the everyday reality of life. Work for it, and then reap the benefits. Hope to see everyone again next year. Keep moving everybody!
Yesterday we had our “DASH” around Kampeska Half Marathon. Once again, we have been working on this for the past year. It was our 3rd year of having a successful event. All proceeds went to sponsor DASH, the Watertown police department program developed for kids. DASH is an acronym for Drug Free, Alcohol Free, Safe and Healthy. The mission is to challenge community partnerships to lead by example and to empower Watertown youth to choose to live healthy and positive lifestyles. Friday night we had a 5k walk/run, and a large group of “Girls on the Run” came and participated. This was their goal–to finish a 5k event! It was a great turnout. It was a great way to achieve a goal.
We had great weather for the 5k as the sun came out. Some of us were getting ready for last minute instructions before the event.
Saturday morning came the Half Marathon. It was cool, and foggy to start off with. But we were all greeted with some great views of the sunrise as well!
It was a great way for many people participating to achieve their goal of either completing the Half Marathon, or participating in the relay of 2 people, each running half. Sally and her daughter were going to run the relay, and they ended up running the entire Half together!
Jason, another member of our run club, was cheering his 9-year-old son, and he ran the relay with his brother!
The Crow family was out in force. They also run with the run club. Jason helped work the event, and Vicki, Cameron, and Cooper all ran the half. I know this was Vicki’s first, and maybe for Cooper too. I think Cameron ran one last year with her dad. But they were all cheering for each other, and we were all cheering for them!
We had a ton of people helping on the sidelines as well. Cheerleaders, water station entertainment. Tom and Sue Beaudry were out there cheering and serving!
We were all busy working as well, and Sarah and I, and Jason were zipping back and forth from the start to the finish. It was cold at the time of the start!
It took a team to organize this event. It took even a bigger team the day of the event. And, it took an even bigger team for all of the people who participated in the event itself. It takes a lot of courage to step out of your comfort zone and go for a goal. When we work for something, we are trying to attempt something that we may not have ever done yet. If we have done something of it before, we are always trying to improve upon our previous goal. Never stop trying. Never stop improving. Work for your goals, whatever they may be. It can bring a lot of fulfillments, and a strong feeling of accomplishments when you “DASH to your goals”! Keep moving everybody!
The weekend started off busy. Several people from Watertown drove to Brookings to participate in the Brookings Half Marathon/Marathon. It was not the greatest of weather, but it held off pouring on us until we were at least done running, so that was a huge plus. My daughter Megan had been working for months trying to have a goal of breaking 2 hours. She did it, running officially 1:57:53. She was thrilled! She put in a lot of work, and knew what she wanted to get, and went for it. She wanted to change her goal time. Even prior to the race she kept repeating to herself: I can do this! I worked for it! I will not stop to have to go to the bathroom! Ha! You have to think positive in regard to everything! She made a commitment! A commitment to change! The used that commitment as a power to change!
Erika helped pace her through. I ran too, but I did not put the time in like she did, and no way I was going to hold her back. Thanks Erika! We all have the power to change. As Albert Einstein said: “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” You did it Meg!
Her boyfriend Dan was out there to keep cheering her on. I think that alone pushed her to break 2 hours!
Besides going there to run, we had several out there to be cheerleaders. Thanks for all of the support. Everybody needs encouragement.
Patricia and I were starting off together. First thing on our mind was “get this going” as it was kind of cold just standing there!
I came in at 2:05:06, and I was very happy too! I was happy to be able to run, and finish. The girl coming beside me is Grace Stein. She is from Watertown, and I noticed her beside me at mile 5, and ran with her the rest of the way. This was her first Half Marathon, and she rocked it. At the end we were both pushing each other. You never know who will encounter during things, and how those people can also help you with the power to change, and vice versa! It would have been easy to settle back, and just run, but that is also the allure of running. You go by how you feel, and then don’t be afraid to push it some. Jimi Hendrix said: “In order to change the world, you have to get your head together first.” Right on. Test your limits. Push yourself. If you don’t, you have no idea what you are capable to doing. You have the power to change that!
If you are not sure about the power of change, go watch a sunrise or a sunset. When there are clouds, it literally can change by the minute. Guess what? That is what we need to do every day! We have to make decisions that influence the outcome for the rest of the day. Those influence not only us, but others around us. I love this quote by author John C. Maxwell (I read a lot of his books!): “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” You decide. Are you going to be the driver of your life, or a passenger? You have the power to change!
Absolutely! So, what are you waiting for? Use that power you have to make change…change for the better! Keep moving everybody!
