I have to say, I have not been feeling the greatest lately. I seriously think I am coming down with grandchild withdrawal! I have not seen Connor since Thanksgiving, and they are coming next weekend to celebrate Christmas. We had to go a week early to get everybody home. Boy, do I miss him! I thought our kids captured our hearts, but this really is different! Molly and Tanner send us snapchats everyday so we can see how he is doing, but there is nothing like holding him. This post is going to have a lot more pictures than usual, just to get my point across.
He is always smiling, and so happy! How can you not miss him! Connor reminds me so much of Molly when she was little.
Molly is the one on the left. It is hard to imagine this picture is already over 27 years old! Where did the time go!
Here they are now all grown up, and Megan is holding Connor at his baptism.
It is fun seeing Sarah holding a baby again. She is making a wonderful grandma and loves her role just as much as I do mine.
Holding him just does not get old. He will be walking and running with us as he gets older. I always have my hat on running, so of course he had to try it out too.
I am ready to go Grandpa! I may have more facial hair, but he has me beat for the amount of hair on his head! Train them young to they learn quicker.
We had him out in the stroller this Fall, but now it is too cold for him. We will be back out there again in the Springtime! The only one who probably is not as excited to see Connor come is Dakota. She starts to feel left out, but manages to get petting time by everybody then.
Dakota wiped out after Connor leaves. She has to cuddle with her pet dinosaur. Another kid in the family.
Having Connor spend time with us is like having a great new sunrise every morning. It just gets better and better, no matter how many times you may have seen it (in this case, him!)
How true! Connor just laughs and smiles, not a care in the world. We need to get back to those simpler times as well. Life is too stressful at times, and many times made more stressful by ourselves. Kick back and enjoy the important things in life. Spend time with your family, and especially your grandkids. As we get older, we now can actually spend more time with our grandkids than we actually did with our own kids. Spoil them. Play with them. Be with them! You/I want our grandkids to remember us. Don’t miss those opportunities.
Stay fit and take care of your health. Don’t miss out on those times you can spend with your grandchildren. They want to be a part of your life. I/we really want them to be a part of our lives. Enjoy every minute of it. Keep moving everybody!
We all tend to be in hurry. We have to hurry up and do this and hurry up and do that. Patience is not something that comes to us easily. When talking to patients, and their health issues, it is always the same thing: They want to be better yesterday! I am no different. We all want to do well and live our lives the best we can. We are not always in control though. Sometimes going slower can actually accomplish things faster. We can be more productive if we are not in a hurry, or we take the time to really think about it. That is what is so fun about taking pictures of the sunrise, or sunsets. You have to be patient. One minute is different from the next. It is always changing. Just when you thought it was about done, it changes, and looks even better than it did previously. Such is life. One moment we wonder how things could get any worse, and then wait a little bit, to find that things have worked out, and we are on to the next thing. Some things may take longer than others, but that truly is where patience comes into play.
We especially need to be patient when the going is hard and slow. We wonder if we are ever going to get through something, only to look back on it later and tell ourselves, “You know, maybe it was not so bad after all!” If we want to achieve something, we have to work at it. We all have goals, and if we work at it, it eventually is achievable. That does not mean we did not put a lot of work, effort, and sweat into it. But then all goals take effort, and that effort often times requires us to be patient.
Here is our run group from last weekend. Several of our usual runners were not there that day. Sarah, Jenn, and Paula have all been hurt, and are recovering. It takes patience. Many times, when we can’t run, patience is hard to find. Our body is telling us one thing, and our mind another. But we need both together to accomplish things, especially goals. Several people in this picture have reached what I will say is a marathon runners dream: to get to the Boston Marathon. Owen just found out his time from the Brookings Marathon earlier this year qualified him, and he will be running at Boston in April. Congratulations! For Erika and Tom, they have already run Boston in the past.
Erika and Tom, two seasoned running veterans who have both already run Boston. They have stories and experiences from that day. They have running stories in general from years of running. All that experience pays off in their daily lives as well. They did not get there right away either. Patience! I have been trying now for 29 years. Maybe someday as I get older it may be, but then maybe my qualifying days are done. That is ok too. I had a lot of fun over the years running, and I would not trade it for anything. There is always that elusive “Boston qualifying” goal that I have just never been able to achieve. So, when somebody truly gets a qualifying time, it is a huge accomplishment. It is most definitely one that took work, effort, mental power, and… patience!
The perfect picture! Patience…exercise…sunset…what better way to make a point! Patience truly is an exercise in self-control. We all need to learn to be patient, in all aspects of our life. “Good things come to those who wait!” How many times have you heard this phrase? Too many to count! So in these coming days, slow down. Pay attention to what is around you. Look at things differently, and it may amaze as to what you see.
These images, surroundings, things in our life have always been there, but we…I… have just been too busy to pay attention! Slow down! Pay attention! Take it all in. You don’t even know what you are missing when you are not even looking! It is time to have a new look with our eyes, to feed new thoughts to our brain, which can then translate new energy to our bodies as well. Learn to be patient and take the time to appreciate what you have accomplished. Know there is more to come, and that the effort will be worthwhile! Keep moving everybody and learn to be patient!
This Thanksgiving was the annual Turkey Day 5k run/walk. Sarah, Megan, and I participated prior to getting ready for a family gathering, and great food. Hopefully you all had a great Thanksgiving. But, what are you thankful for? I will give you a few of the things I am grateful for this year.
Family is number one!
We all recently got together for my grandson Connor’s baptism. All of my kids, and now my first grandchild. I had thought, and hoped, that being a grandpa was going to be really cool, but I did not even fathom how cool it really could be!
He is such a good little boy! Always smiling. We could all learn a lot from him. Take things in stride. Be happy, and just be you! I love being a grandpa, and the same for Sarah being a grandma!
My twin brother Don came to spend some time with us this weekend. We went walking, taking the dogs, and also went out on some picture taking trips. It was good to see him again. He is a Lutheran Minister, and does not get the opportunity to leave very often. We are both very busy, and have to find more time to spend with family, and to give thanks for!
The food was absolutely incredible on Thursday. I did my part helping where I could, and cleaning up, but Sarah is the major cook, and master chef. She once again did an absolutely great job of making a great meal.
I am grateful to be running again! I did not know after my health issues almost 3 years ago how this would go. I may not be as fast, but that is ok. I am out running. Right now, Sarah has a sore foot, and she can’t run. I miss my main running partner so much! I can’t wait until she can join me and the rest of us again.
She was out walking during the Turkey day run/walk, and spent the time walking with one of our friends, Sue Beaudry. They got to do some catching up conversation wise!
We had many of our WARC group show up for the Turkey run as well. It is great to call these people friends! We all love to run, and exercise. It is especially nice to see the younger ones of our group bringing their kids out to participate like we did with our kids for many years. Now my kids are joining us as adults. My daughter Molly and son-in-law Tanner ran the Turkey Day 5k back in Marshall, MN, close to their home of Tyler.
I am also thankful of finding time to go out and see the beauty of the Lake and scenery, and just taking the time to truly appreciate it. It has been a great escape for me!
These are some of the things I am thankful for. But just as it says, remember: In every thing, give thanks! Don’t take anything for granted. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. Live today, and each day to its fullest. Really Strive to Survive. And remember, to tell the people around how much you care for them, and appreciate them! Keep moving everybody!
We all have tough experiences that we encounter in life, even daily. There are always challenges, and it makes you wonder many times as to why you even bother. This is where you have to change that adversity, and have it become a learning opportunity. We all can learn something from our mistakes. If we do learn something, we grow from it. If we don’t, then we will just keep repeating those same mistakes over again. Whenever we are knocked down, we need to get back up. Instead of complaining about things all of the time, start talking about the positives involved with them. Create positive opportunities!
Shine your light for others. Teach as we go, not only for others, but for ourselves. We always need to keep learning. Always! A lot of our teaching lessons can be from what we see, and how we handle those situations. With the weather starting to get colder, even though we have not had much snow yet, it is easy to start getting down because we are going to be limited with what we can do outside. It is dark when we go to work, and dark when we go home. We have to figure out other ways to keep the “light on” in our life. This weekend was a good example. When I go out and take pictures, the ice is building up everywhere along the lake. If I just think about it getting cold enough to have ice, it is easy to start feeling down due to the weather. But that “ice” can also bring out other things to adventure in, and different ways of seeing things.
The ice creates its own art to be able to see things in a different way. I still love all the reflections I see with sunsets.
This was last night! The colors were amazing. From this picture, it could still be July outside. Now add the ice back in…
Now it added a whole different view to the scene. It may be cold, but it is really pretty. It can make something look even more extraordinary. That is how we have to look at things in life. How do we turn something bad, or ordinary, into something good, or extraordinary? It starts with out attitude. I talked about being in the driver’s seat last week. Our attitude is the main driver of us. If we are happy, things go well. If we are not happy, things tend to snowball, and then can seem even worse. Our reaction to those adversities in our life determine our opportunities going forward.
And, just like with me taking pictures, it is a moment to slow down a little bit, and really appreciate what is in front of us. I have always said a picture says a thousand words. But even better–
Great description! And true! We all have phones, and we all can take pictures. Slow down a little, and create more pause buttons in life. Appreciate the moments more. Take advantages of those things in life we may have taken for granted. Turn those adversities into learning opportunities, and in the long run, we will much more satisfied, and happy! Keep looking for those moments! Keep moving everybody!
Tom Beaudry and I. We have been in many races together, and too numerous to count training runs. We always pushed each other, and encouraged each other. Some of those runs came back in mind this week. I heard a song again from many years back: “Driver’s Seat” by Sniff ‘n’ tears. Many good lines in that song. “Pick up your feet, Got to move to the trick of the beat, There is no elite, Just take your place in the driver’s seat.” Many runs where we would help each other “pick it up”. That was then, and it really is no different now. We are in the driver’s seat. The driver’s seat of our life!
Any direction you choose! We just have to make sure we choose wisely!
How perfect that this would be with a sunset in the background! Choose what you want to do with your life, and how you want to spend it. Just continue to pay attention to the important things in life. Don’t miss out on what is in front of you!
Enjoy the view along the way. Figure out different ways you can be in the driver’s seat as well. That driver’s seat may be out for a walk, a run, a bike ride, or just sitting and thinking. You are in control steering your life. Sarah and I had a great time riding out on the Mickelson Trail in the Hills this Summer.
We were in control of what we wanted to do! Just like our run group each week. We always help each other “steer” down that road, and help each other “pick it up”.
So what are you waiting for? “Pick up, pick up. Pick up your feet, Gonna dance the day away!”
Remain in the driver’s seat. You are in control of your life. Not all things remain under our control, but the point is to control those parts of it that can be controlled. Enjoy the ride along the way! There are always things that come up in life; some good, some bad. Continue to “pick up your feet”, and keep moving. There is always another way of looking at things in life–as long as you stay in the driver’s seat! Keep moving everybody!
Our diabetes support group is meeting again Thursday! Be sure to check out the details below and join the group.
Meeting Time: 2nd Thursday of the Month @ 6:00 pm Location: Holy Name Church • 1009 Skyline Drive, Watertown, SD
November 11, 2021: Living with Diabetes
Join Kay, the Novo Nordisk diabetic educator and dietitian, for a discussion on living with diabetes.
December 9, 2021 Topic: Carbs and New Year Resolutions
Join Becky Schaible, Dietitian in the discussion on carbs and health ways to manage resolutions in 2022.
A group gathering for people with diabetes and those who support them. Meetings feature a speaker. Presentation topics change each month related to diabetes.
