As we come upon another Father’s Day, it is once again time to reflect back on the accomplishments that have been made, what went right, what went wrong, and how or what can I do to improve things. Sarah and I over the years have always been active, and we have tried to teach our kids to be active as well. It is that important! There are so many other adventures and activities that you can do together, that will make lifetime memories. This first picture Sarah had made T-shirts for one of Grandma’s marathon’s that I was in, and these guys were my walking cheerleaders. I would come down the road to hear them cheering me on, and to see what they were wearing! Boy, talk about getting fired up. It is one of my favorites pictures, and times, to look back on. There are many times to look back at, with the trips we have made, activities we have done. That is what makes pictures so nice. It helps you to remember details that you may have otherwise forgotten.
This was one year, on Father’s Day, taking a picture with me wearing my shirt that says “Awesome Dad”! Hard to realize they were that little once. There were many times we got to spend out at the Lake as well.
Here we are showing off the fish we caught. Just a little excitement from everybody here! They also came with us to many races/marathons, and were my ongoing cheerleaders. It was great having them come along. Now they are starting to participate in these races with us! Here my twins are with me the following morning after one of Grandma’s Marathon races.
The perfect way to feel ready to go again! With what we do for our jobs, it made it hard many times to figure out how we could spend more time with them. When you look back, there are always things you wish you could change, and how you would spend your time. But, at the time, we did the best we could, and tried to make many lifetime memories. We had a lot of fun when they were growing up. I learned many things from my Dad. I probably got to spend more time with him after he retired, as his job entailed working evenings. We never wanted for anything, except being able to spend more time with him. Later on, we just had to spend more quality time together!
Of course, this may be Father’s Day, but none of these things would have happened without help from Sarah. We were truly a team. We remain a team yet. Yesterday Sarah and I participated in the “Race for Chase”, a 10 mile team race where one of you has to ride, and one has to run. You start together, and have to finish together, and you can trade off as often as you want. We won our age group for coed teams…the age group I refer to as “Team Old”! We had fun, and hopefully there will be many more running, biking, and exercising adventures to do together, not only with the two of us, but later with the kids, and then grandkids.
My three kids are growing up, and moving on with their own lives. Hopefully, we have instilled in them how to become better at taking care of themselves, staying active, and being involved as a family. We all can work at becoming better. Me included…I always have to continue to work on being a better Dad. I got one shot at it, and the job description keeps changing, so hopefully I can continue to adapt and change on the fly. But, one thing is for sure. I will never forget my walking billboard at the marathons. The front of the shirts you saw at the beginning. But, when they would turn around as I ran by, and it was the back of the shirts that I will never forget!
This is what it is all about! This is why I want to be around longer. This is why I need to continue to work on becoming a better Dad…always. You do the same, whether as a Dad, or Mom, or friend, or whatever! Work on becoming a better you!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3550
