One thing is for sure, when you have kids, you are always a Dad! You are there for questions, worries, advice, support…and then when they have kids, being a grandpa and taking care of the grandkids. I am loving this role. Especially with getting close to retiring, I am going to have more time for this as well. I still have lots of projects I want to do, but will weave in all of these other things! It is nice when they text, or call, because they want some advice. It is nice to know my opinion matters!
Sarah and I are both fulfilling that role. What parent is not going to do what they need to do to help their kids? We will always be there for them. We want the best for them. Even if at certain times it may not be something they want to hear. Those years of experience come into play. We always have our kids at heart. And now, the grandkids.
I think that has been passed along to the kids too, because they get along so well with each other. They are all married, but they care about how their siblings are doing? Best news a parent could hear. Aunt Megan is always their for her nieces and nephews as well!
Sarah and I have always tried to be there for our kids, and we hope they realized this…always! They will always be our kids! Dr. Tracy told me years ago that when the kids are small, their problems are small, but when they get big, the problems get bigger! How true! It is fun now to start helping with the grandkids as well.
We will definitely be helping more next month when Caleb gets his first surgery. We all know he has multiple ones coming, but that does not make it any easier. The grandkids are no different…we are always going to worry about them too. Stay involved in their lives. Make your presence count. Keep making memories. And, keep moving everybody!
When it comes to the grandkids, you remember what the joy of opening presents is really like, and what it was like when you were little. The smiles on their faces, the screeches and laughs, and the energy…wow! It made for great entertainment for the rest of us as well.
Tessa and Connor got to help pass out presents. Then they got to dig into theirs with everybody watching. Grandma and I took turns holding Caleb, but he was defnitely intrigued by it all too.
It was a great Christmas. Unfortunately, the bulk of us came down with the stomach flu late Sunday night, into Monday. I guess that is the risk you take anytime you get a group of people together. Sometimes, you take the bad with the good. We all survived. Getting sick was certainly not fun, but the rest of the weekend was a ball, and that is what we need to focus in on. It made up for the rest. The Caleb snuggles were priceless! We all got to experience these!
I tell you though, at the end of every evening, I took over with Caleb. After eating, he just snuggles in, and falls asleep on your shoulder, so it was a great time for me to do the same! I loved every minute of it too! It truly is fun watching your grandkids just have a ball with everything. It brings back all of the memories of when I watched my own kids at that age. But now, I get to see my kids have the same look and smile on their face watching their kids do the same. Priceless! The true joy of holidays. I would not change it for anything. Now it is time to get back to more seriousness with working out, and the progress continues. I will start showing you what I have been doing as alternatives ways to work out. It is a lesson for us all. Be creative. Don’t let tough times get you down. This is just when you show that you are “tougher”. I will be back to running in another couple months. Then look out! But I still have great times making moments and memories. This last picture was a sure sign of have fun until you run out of gas, then enjoy the relaxation!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day of newest streak: # 682
Last weekend we had the grandkids to start our celebration of Christmas. We watched Christmas movies on TV from when I was growing up, and the grandkids loved them too. We went to City Park night lights, and it too was awesome. We managed to go to Santa land in the mall as well. That was a definite hit. Santa, trees, lights, the village, and of course, the grinch!
We had an amazing time with the grandkids. Caleb is now 4 months old. We have to work harder to help feed him with his cleft lip and palate, but he is growing great. He is such a snuggler! Love spending time with them. We spent this weekend at Sarah’s parents in Huron, and next weekend we will have all of our kids home to celebrate our Christmas!
Hopefully you all had a great Christmas celebration, and got to spend some time with family. It is even better when it gets to be extended over several weeks of time. Can’t wait for next weekend. It will be wonderful spending Christmas with our immediate family, and spend time celebrating a new year. Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day of newest Streak: # 669
Dr. Shives will be retiring at the end of this month after joining Brown Clinic back in 1989. We want to give a big Thank You to him for all of his years of service. A celebration will be given for him on Saturday January 3, from 1-3 PM at the Watertown Event Center. Hope to see you there. For many years, he has been there to lend a helping hand, words of wisdom, and his time.
Several years ago he was named South Dakota Family Doctor of the Year!
Times were challenging at times as well. The stress of taking care of so many people is challenging, and there is always a demand on your time. But I caught him for this next photo when he was having a particularly challenging day…
But, with Dr. Shives, there is always time for friendships, and coffee…
Let’s show him how we much we appreciated all of this years of services by coming up, say Hi!, and Thank you!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day of newest streak: #662
Things are readjusting this past week. Taking the time to realize what is most important. Christmas is coming up, and we will have some time with the kids and grandkids. Next weekend we will have just the grandkids. We are getting all ready for them! Ready for some snuggles and baby giggles! We are trying to get the house ready for everything. I think the Christmas shopping is done. Getting ready to make some more memories.
Sarah got the tree up and is ready to have presents put under it. It will be interesting if we can keep the grandkids away from them yet next weekend or not! Ready for new adventures.
The different Santas are up. I hope to watch some old Christmas animated movies next weekend. I always loved them as a kid. It was nice to watch them with our kids, now we get to watch them with our grandkids. Many of them never get old! It brings memories back to when I was a kid…
The stockings are hung up by the fireplace but won’t put anything in the until Christmas. Christmas season helps take my mind off all the other issues that have been going on recently. Can’t wait to see the smiles on the grandkids when it is Christmas and time to open presents. I am sure next week I will have lots of pictures of them “pre-Christmas”–that is what Grandpa’s are supposed to do, right? Sarah has been a huge help lately…I truly am lucky. Thank you, Sarah! Let’s have fun next weekend, and over Christmas time as well when everyone is here. Keep moving everybody…do something…even if it is not what you are used to doing…do something! I am finding out it is different right now but not doing anything would just be an excuse. I just have to find alternatives that I can do…and I am!
Well, I am at least starting to move on with things. Sarah and I are recovered from Covid, but not the ramifications of covid–at least for me. Covid, because of the inflammatory response it creates, increases the risk of developing blood clots. It increases it even more with somebody who has already had blood clots (back in 2019), and in anybody over the age of 60. I guess I hit the trifecta! That is what happened to me. I developed a blood clot in my left leg (right leg last time), obstructed below the knee, and partially obstructed up to the groin. With blood clots, small fragments can break off and go the lung, called a PE (Pulmonary embolus). We did not do a CT of my chest because we need to use contrast, and I lost majority of my right kidney with the last blood clot, so I have to be careful. I had been having some shortness of breath, my heart rate was up when I went to the ER, and my oxygen level was dropping, and they had to start oxygen. After conversations with a vascular surgeon in SF, he said there was no reason to get a CT. We just assume I had a PE as well. Usually, we want to know if a patient does or does not have a PE because the length of being on blood thinners for a clot in your leg can be 3-6 months, and for a PE 6-12 months. The vascular surgeon says it does not matter for me. This is my second time having a clot, and now I am on lifelong blood thinners…and all the potential bleeding risks that go along with this. I guess I should just shut up…I am still here. But I won’t lie–I was pissed! I try to do things in my life to help keep me healthy, and promote it as well, and then something comes along to change all of it, and that something you have absolutely no control over.
Yep! I am usually the one on the other side telling somebody else this. Now I have to keep telling myself this as well. I have not stopped my exercise streak though. But, I can only do upper body things. No running–for minimum of 3 months. No leg workouts for months. No biking for months. Hopefully by next month I can get out and do some walking–up to 20 minutes. I am going to drive myself nuts–and Sarah too. At least she is supportive. She does not care about the exercise aspect but just wants me around so I can actually enjoy retirement coming up.
So now I get to work with dumbbells! A dumbbell doing dumbbells! What a deal! At least I am moving. I also got a new piece of equipment, that later I could also use for my legs, but right now I am using for my arms.
At least this has helped maintain some sanity by being able to do something else. Otherwise not running would tip me over the edge. I can’t change what happened. I can’t change, at least just yet, being done being mad about it. I will get there. I am still here to talk about it. It is a lesson we all will come to deal with at some point in our lives. We will have something come up that we do not have any control over. Either learn to control things despite it or let it control you. I tell myself this multiple times a day. I am truly trying to convince myself of this as well.
No question Sarah has helped me immensely during these last few weeks. That is why the picture with her is first. But Tom and Sue have been sending texts, and calling, and brought over a meal one day. Huge Thank you to them as well! One day again Tom I will be running with you again, as well as the rest of our Watertown Area Run Club!
Great way to end this blog for this week. I need to keep reminding myself of this. Everyone, we all have challenges, and we need to keep our heads held high. “Don’t worry if you’re not where you want to be yet. Great things take time!” Keep moving everybody!
