This post is the next in the series of “What is your purpose in Life”, and it deals with running. It may not be so much that my purpose is to run, but that running has made my purpose in life better. I promote exercise to my patients daily. I practice what I preach. Running, and exercise in general, has been my escape over the years, to help work out problems, and to help solve them. It has been immensely helpful as a stress reliever. Running has taken me places I have never been before, and sights I have never seen before, and brought me in contact with people who have been my closest friends. And it is also how I gained the attention of Sarah before we started dating.
When we were in medical school, we did not start dating until our second year. I definitely noticed her, and I knew she was a runner. I would see her out running some days during that first year. She moved into a different house with several other roommates, and it was like 2 blocks from the medical school. I would see her sitting and studying through the dining room window when I went home. I conveniently changed my running route to go past her place on the way out, and then again back home. Those initial hot days that Summer of our second year was convenient as I ran past her house without a shirt on. (Hee Hee! I did what I had too!) Of course, she noticed, and then we started running together a few times, and then the rest is history. If it had not been for running, who knows if that relationship would have developed.
I started running Cross Country and Track as a senior in High School. I can’t tell you how much confidence that gave me going forward. Enough confidence that I ran both sports in college all 4 years of undergrad. It set the tone and gave me the confidence to believe I could do what I wanted to do in life…become a doctor! I will elaborate more on this in the final series of “purpose in life”. Running had become my purpose, and it helped me develop purpose in my life.
I have learned this more and more over the years. It is not the times of the races that matter, but the races I have done over time that matter. Each one brought a different experience. Each one helped fulfill a new goal. Each one allowed me to develop more friends and increase the number of training partners over the years, and those training partners have become some of my best friends. We kept working on the running, and importance of exercise, with our kids as well, and if they did not run in High School, they do now!
Running has been a huge bond between Sarah and I, ever since that first time I saw her running, as well as the first time I ran with her. Our life has been an ongoing marathon since, with no foreseeable finish line coming yet. New adventures and things to do and see that we would not have done had we not been runners.
Not all runs are great, but by far and away, the majority of them are. Sarah and I still have a lot more runs, and races to do as we get older. When we get to the point of retiring some day, we are going to travel the masters circuit and do more events together.
Together, we are going to “run after life”, and “through life”. Again, my purpose in life is not to run, but running has given my life purpose, and it always will. I definitely want to be remembered as a runner. We are promoting running, and exercise, all of the time in Watertown. We run events, sponsor events, and want everybody to get out and move, and be in better control of their lives.
Exactly! A very good summary! We all need to work on this. Have purpose in our lives. Be able to look past the bad times. Learn determination, discipline, and set new goals in life. Learn how to not give up. Make your life have more purpose in it and live it to the fullest! Keep moving everybody!
Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you out there, and your special valentine! May this mark the beginning of a new special day, and special beginning, of a new year. All of you who are married, or who have a significant other, know what I mean. You have a partner in which you can spend time with and do life together with. Through good times and bad, good weather and bad, and all times in between. Make it your day!
Sarah and I have spent years running together. We both love to exercise and stay fit. So many places we have seen and traveled to because of running. The plan is for there to be many more as well.
We are always pushing each other to strive for more. We all should keep working on getting better. Life does not stand still, and neither should you. You never know what you are capable of until you try.
We have hiked out in the Hills in both Summer and Winter. There are always things to see, and when you are outside exploring, you have no idea what you will see that you would not have otherwise.
Things are always changing, and if you don’t keep looking, you will miss it. Enjoy life to the fullest. If you have someone special to share it with, all the better. We are not meant to be alone. Find your passion, and purpose, and do things with the people you care about.
Of course, on this Valentine’s Day, I have to worry about Sarah finding a new man! No problem when he is our grandson, Connor! Someone else to love and care for, and to care about!
For all you girls out there, may it find you some flowers on this special day. But more important…
…may you have someone special to share it with! Happy Valentine’s Day to everybody and enjoy it with the one you care about!
The third in the series of “What is your purpose in Life”. Tomorrow is never guaranteed. Again, what do you want to be remembered for? Did we spend time with the people who are important to us? What do we want our friends to say about us? We/I want to make friends and spend time with them! Creating memories with the people who mean a lot to you. We all want to be remembered as being someone who someone else could count on, big or little. Here we are with the Hauck’s when we went to Disney to do the Half Marathon and Full Marathon a few years ago. What a great trip. Memories forever.
Our run club is a great place for making friends. We all love to run and have a great time solving problems while out for a run. It truly is more than just running though.
We will meet several times for coffee after a run. Everybody catches up on what is all going on with each other in our lives. They are more than just friends. They are an extension of family. We care about each other and what goes on for us all of the time.
Jen and Paula are on the mend from some recent health issues, and it was great seeing them back again. Friends! We all have that as a purpose in our lives. We want someone who we can count on when we need support, and vice versa. These people you can always depend on!
Tom and I have been friends for a long time. Training partners for many years. Both working for years in the medical field, and Tom now has been retired for 2 years now. Where has all the time gone? Those run days are great for catching up on. Now we can talk about our grandkids!
Of course, my people at the clinic are incredibly important as well. On the left, Chris, my main nurse, ever since I have been here. 28 years! She may be retiring later this coming Summer! In the middle, Melody, who has been with me now I think 12 years. And on the right, Michelle, my scheduler for many years, 7 or 8. The best scheduler! We work as a team. That is one thing we will all be remembered by, is how we work as a team. We need to work as a team. Medicine is absolutely a team effort.
Running will be the next purpose in life to talk about. 3 years ago, Noah, and Megan next to him, ran their first Half Marathon with me at Disney. The next day, Carissa ran the marathon with me, her first. We were a team on everything that week and weekend. Close friends, but more like a another set of kids for me. They were just in Deadwood with us last weekend all helping to work, and help Carletta, working at the conference. The purpose that weekend was for them to experience their first long run, and for them to help me complete the Dopey event. We all succeeded! Keep working on your purpose in life! Keep moving everybody!
This past weekend we had our South Dakota Academy of Family Physicians annual meeting in Deadwood. We had only a virtual option last year due to covid, but this year we had both live and virtual options. We all had to wear masks during the meeting and had tests available if anybody started having any symptoms. It was a very good meeting, and we learned a lot. Sarah had served as President for the last 2 years, having an extended year due to covid. She was receiving her plaque at the annual banquet. We had not gone anywhere for the last 5 months. It was time to get away. Whatever free time we managed to have, we spent outside hiking. As Family Physicians, we always have to keep learning. Lifelong learning. Four years of undergraduate work, 4 years of medical school, and 3 years of residency training for our specialty. Yes, Family Medicine is a specialty. All physicians have to have undergraduate training, and then the same training in medical school as all other doctors. Then things separated out in residency for what you type of physician you wanted to become. I always have a hard time when other provider groups advertise that they do Family Practice, and they are not Phyicians. We have a need for these other providers, but not when they falsely advertise. They can set up shop anywhere they want, and do “quick” services, regardless of the quality of care involved, or the level of training involved. I guess to me if they want to advertise family practice, or primary care, then go through the training that it takes to do it. No question, especially these last 2 years with the pandemic, we all needed help by other providers to see people acutely because it was impossible otherwise to see everybody who needed to be seen. But that is not primary care. Family Medicine encompasses care throughout the life cycle. Birth to grave, and all the health problems that can come up along the way. We have to know a lot of everything, but obviously we cannot know everything. That is when it comes time to refer to someone else. But we always have to keep learning.
The conference was 3 full days, early AM, to evening, learning the latest on medicine, and updates involved.
We take care of the “whole” person, mentally and physically. Just like for us, we had to have some breaks when we could just to get outside, and enjoy the mountains.
One evening on a break with the sun setting.
Early morning sunrise before the start of the conferences.
We stayed an extra afternoon after the conference to go hiking in the mountains with our daughter Megan. We needed to unwind and clear our heads after the conference ended. We learned a lot! We always have to keep reading, figuring out plans of care for our patients. We are always trying to figure out what we can do to help take care of our patients as best we can. It has been a huge challenge during this pandemic. All of the other health issues still come up, but covid keeps taking big portions of the day. Someday this pandemic will be over. The stress of this is having an effect on everybody, patients, and all health care providers. We are all doing what we can. Some days never end. But we show up the next day ready to take on more challenges. The life of Family Physicians. Always striving to take care of others. To all of you physicians out there, remember to take care of yourself as well. Keep moving everybody!
The second installment for “What is Your Purpose”: Family. No words can describe what your family means to you or should mean to you. If you can’t count on your family, who can you count on! I loved the line in the movie “Cheaper by the Dozen”, where the family in the movie had 12 kids. At the end one of the kids talked about another one of the kids: “There I times I want to kill her, but more important, there are more times that I would kill for her”. Now, it does not have to get to this extent, but the point of it was that we may not always get along every minute of every day, but in the long run, we would do anything for someone in our family! We have each other’s backs! We raised our kids to be active like us, and it carried on into their adult lives. We all have to put some effort into taking care of ourselves. That is also one of our purposes in life. We cannot just depend on somebody else taking care of us, or doing everything for us, if we are able to do it ourselves.
They learned right from the start that this family will be active, and we will support each other. We went biking, walking, running together. When I had some of my marathons early on, they were all there as cheerleaders. We support each other with what we do. Then as they got older, and their activities came up, we were in the stands or the sidelines cheering them on. Family support always. This is definitely one point to be grateful for, and one to be remembered for. We were a family, and I was Dad. Most men, not all, but most men can be Fathers, but we all earn the title of Dad. I want to be remembered for being the best Dad I could be. It was not always easy. Sometimes you had to put your foot down. They had to learn, and sometimes the hard way, to the point that you may not always be the most popular person. My kids may have thought, just like most kids, that we may have been tough on them at times. But it was actually tougher on Sarah and me!
Sarah and I still remain very active and will for as long as we can. We don’t just talk the talk but walk the talk! Just like the back of my shirt says on this picture: Success: A Journey–not a destination! Just like life! That is our purpose. Keep going on journeys. Keep exploring new things. Keep learning. Keep trying. Live!
We still try and get together to run races. Here we are at the annual Hump Day 5k. Our individual schedules may not always allow us to do them together as much, but we can still do them. On Thanksgiving, we have the annual turkey run here, and my daughter Molly and son-in-law did the turkey run in Marshall, MN.
One of the best titles I can claim is being a grandpa! I love spending time with Connor, who now just turned 6 months old. Molly and Tanner are sending us snapchats every day to show us what he is all doing. They are the highlights of the day! When I had my health scare almost 3 years ago, when I was 54, it was again a stark reality that we are not guaranteed tomorrow. My grandfather died at 54, and never got to see any of his grandchildren. No matter what, I got to start seeing mine, and spending time with them. I want to be remembered as being the greatest grandpa that ever was! As he grows up, he will blend right into the Reiffenberger family by walking and running races too. It is a family tradition after all! It will become second nature to him too!
No debate. Family is forever. Sarah and I created this family, and we are the foundation. I would be lost without her.
I want to go down as being remembered as a great husband too. Through thick and thicker! Together! Always! We have traditions to keep going, and races to run. Most important, we have memories to make. I want to stay on this ride for as long as we can. No regrets! Keep moving for your health. Keep your family moving. Keep moving everybody!
