“She said, 'I'm so afraid.' And I said, 'why?,' and she said, 'Because I'm so profoundly happy, Dr. Rasul. Happiness like this is frightening.' I asked her why and she said, 'They only let you be this happy if they're preparing to take something from you.” ― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

 Oh, 2024, you brought me so much happiness and sadness. You let me have some adventures and brought some life-changing events. So here we go, the year in pictures...

I started the year out in January with a tooth breaking off. That was not how I wanted the year to start...After a lot of swearing and then a few tears, I took this awful photo 😂 It had to have a bridge put in, and it was all fixed within a week. 

January got better with a sleepover party with the grandkids and visiting three state parks in a day to do the hiking club trails. 

February brought brunch with some of my favorite people. 

February had me going way out of my comfort zone by taking a pottery class... It was a lot of fun, but I found out I have no talent in pottery-making 😆

March was a lot of nothingness, it was good to have nothing time...

All the grandkids on Easter Sunday. 

April brought the MN State Archery Tournament. And another brunch with more of my favorite people.  

   

May was a big month. We had our first camping trip of the year, and I retired!  

June came with two more camping trips and a lot of rain! And Rick shooting the MSAA State Target shoot. 

In July, we added a new member to our family, a kitten named Rainy. We went to Hines for a family reunion and then went camping at Itasca State Park, where we got a little lost and went for a 13-mile hike.   

In August, we competed in the MN Senior Games. Rick shot in archery, and I ran a 5K. We went camping with the family at Lebanon Hills County Park. Larina and Nash came for a 5-day visit and enjoyed fishing and shooting archery. -

 

        

In September, I ran a 4-mile fun run, and we had our annual apple pie-making day, went camping one more time, and ran the Nearstrand Big Woods 5K. It was Josie's first-ever race.  

  October was so rewarding and so, so hard. In October, my Dad died, it was and still is hard. I took a Fall flower arranging class with Christa. I ran a 5K with Amy, Carey, and Jese the next day, I ran my first 10K race with Carey and cheered on Amy and Jese as they ran the half marathon. Rick and I did some hiking in the local parks. I also finished my 2024 miles in 2024 goal on Oct. 30. 

     November brought a spur-of-the-moment trip to Grand Marais with Christa, just what I needed to reflect on a hard October. We hosted Thanksgiving and ran another 5k. 

And finally, we are onto December. We went to a John Denver tribute concert with the MN Orchestra, it made me cry because John Denver makes me think of my Dad, but it was so good. We celebrated Christmas with the kids and Rick and I did a winter hike on Christmas day. 

So that is my year in a nutshell. If you made it through all those pictures, congratulations. Believe it or not, I actually eliminated some photos 😆

2024 was a hard year for me. We had a lot of things to be joyful about, but my Dad was always on my mind. I spent way more time with him this year than I had in a long time. Alzheimer's stole so much from him. He missed Mom so much and did not understand why she left him behind. He was so ready to go and be with her, but I was not ready to let him go. So when he died, I was happy for him because he could be with his one true love again. I still can't believe that I lost both my Mom and Dad in less than a year. So, I think of all the joy I've had this year and all the love that surrounds me. 

2025 will be a great year.

Sharon 

“It's like the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad has happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer. I know now folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something. That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.” ― Samwise Gamgee

 

My daughter Christa unexpectedly got into a North House Fold School class in Grand Marais, MN. She asked me if I wanted to go along for the ride, so I said, "Sure, why not?" 

We drove up on Friday and checked into the cutest little cottage one0eight. 

It was so clean and the perfect size for the two of us. 

Once we got settled in, Christa was off for her first night of class. The cottage was just a few blocks from the school, so she walked to it. 

Once her class was done we went to the local brewery for some supper and to sample the beer. 

Saturday, Christa was in class from 9:00-5:00. I spent the day walking around the town, checking out a few shops, taking a 4-mile walk on the Gitchi-Gami Trail, and reading. It was the most relaxing day. 

I walked out to the Grand Marais lighthouse and took this photo of the North House Folk School where Christa was taking her class. It is such a great school, and they teach so many skills. 

I loved sitting on the shores of Lake Superior. It is the best place to just be still and breathe. 

Sunday, Christa had another day of class. I had walked up this huge hill on Saturday, and as I walked, I thought I should try and run up it. On Sunday, I started walking about a quarter of the way up I told myself to run, and that is what I did. It was hard, but I reached the top without stopping to walk. I love a good challenge. Running is really just a mental game. If you think you can do it, you can. 

I forgot to mention that the class Christa was taking was pastry making. She brought all the tasty pastries back for me to try. They were all soooooo good! I probably should have gone back and ran up that hill a few more times 😂

Such beauty on the shoreline. 

 These past two years have been so hard. The weekend away, having alone time to decompress, reflect, and relax, is what I needed for my mental health. It is okay to not always be the strong one. It is okay to feel all those emotions and let it all out. It is okay to be sad about what I have lost. It is okay that learning to live with grief takes time. 

Take a day, week, or year. Do not let anyone tell you that you need to get over it.

Sharon 

"A mile is a mile, regardless of how long it took to get there"

 In May, my daughter Amy texted to say she was signing up to run the Mankato Half Marathon and asked who wanted to join her. I responded that I didn't think I was up for the half but would do the 10K. So, I signed up to run the 5K on Friday evening and the 10K on Saturday morning. 

I love running, but my body doesn't always agree with me. So I speed walk 5-6 days a week and run one day a week. Walking fast makes it easy to take off running when I want to. I also throw in some bike riding and hiking for some cross-training. 

So, this weekend was race weekend!!! 

Amy, Carey, Jese, and I ran the 5K on Friday night. 

Jese and Amy are all ready for the Half Marathon on Saturday. 

Carey and I are all ready for the 10K on Saturday. 

Ready to run the 5K. 

Amy and I are wearing my Dad's bandanas to honor him. 

Amy and I just took it easy on the 5k. We did a slow jog and walked. It was just for fun and to get the jitters out for our big races on Saturday. Jese and Carey ran it fast. They both got their personal record times!! I was so excited for them. 

Sporting our 5K medals. 

Today, Saturday was our big race day! We got up bright and early and made it to the start line. We were all excited and a bit nervous.  

The 10K started at 8:00 and the Half at 8:30, so Carey and I got to take off first. 

I started my running career when I was 40. I have run 5 half marathons, one Twin Cities 10-mile race, and too many 5Ks to count. I have never run a 10K race. In preparation for the race, I ran 3-4 miles weekly, 5 miles a few times, and 6.2 miles once. 

My time in training for the 10K was 1:05:37 at a 10:34 pace. I did that on September 23. 

I was super excited that I got to ring the Personal Record Bell at the end of the race!! 

I finished the race in 1:01:33 at a 9:55 pace. My overall ranking was 188 out of 587, 104 out of 384 females, and 5th out of 13 in my age group (F60-69) I'm so happy with how the race went. I knew I could do better than I had done in September, and I did!

 

Carey also got to ring the Personal Record Bell!!! He finished the race in 1:03:24. 

After we were done running, we went to cheer on the rest of the runners in the 10K, Half Marathon, and Marathon. One of the things I love about running is everyone is happy for the other people running. Whether you are first, last, or somewhere in between. Everyone cheers for everyone!

Jese finished the half marathon in 2:32:03. 

Amy finished in 2:32:18.

I am so proud of Amy, Jese, and Carey! 

Amy was the driving force for all 4 of us to get running. She had not been doing much running for a while when she decided it was time to get back in shape. She trained so hard for this race. I was so happy for her. 

Jese had not run for 8 years when he decided to sign up and train for the half marathon. He had to train through some injuries, but he did it! This was only his second half-marathon. 

Carey had never run any races until this summer! So it was really a big thing for him to run this race. Until today, the furthest he had ever run was 5.5 miles. What a great accomplishment. It was fun for me to run the race with him. 

I am also proud of myself. At 62 years old, I can still run a race and do good at it. 

Today was also a very bittersweet day for me. It was one year ago today that my Mom died. And it has only been 9 days since my Dad died. Since Dad died, every time I would go for a walk, I would find myself crying. Dad is my inspiration with his walking and running. I cannot go for a walk or run without thinking of him. And to not get that phone call from Mom last night telling me good luck on your race was hard. I miss them so much. 

My Dad had Alzheimer's. One thing I have learned about Alzheimer's is that exercise is key to keeping your brain healthy as you age. So, I am going to keep walking, biking, hiking, and running until my body gives out. I am running away from the awful disease,  Alzheimer's. I honor my Dad every time I take my 62-year-old body out for a walk. 

I miss them both so much, but I am carrying them with me every day and trying to make them proud. 

Get out and move.....

Sharon

"We will remember your name forever. Forever your memory will burn as a light inside us all " -Ojibwa Song

 

On October 10th, my Dad decided it was time to reunite with Mom. The picture above was my last photo of the two of us together.  

When asked to describe Dad, the first word that came to my mind was humble. He has so many talents that he never thought they were good enough when he was younger. It wasn't until the last few years that he would talk about what a good job he did at things. 

Dad was a very talented mason. His brickwork is in so many homes in and around Faribault. He was such a perfectionist in everything he did. I remember in our French Lake home, he built a beautiful fireplace. After we moved into the house, he tore it all out and made it over again because it wasn't up to his standards. 

With only an 8th-grade Country School education and a GED he earned while serving in the Army, he went on to build two very successful masonry businesses. 

When he retired, he taught himself woodworking. He started making birdhouses, birdfeeders, trellis, and even doll houses for his great-granddaughters. All of us have them in our yards. 

I have so many great memories of what a great Dad he was. Every winter, he would take the fence down for the cow pasture and flood the little pond we had to make a huge ice rink for us. After every snow, he would be out there making sure it was cleared off so we could go ice skate. We had a huge hill that we spent many hours sliding on. Dad used to take a few rides down that hill on the toboggan. He was always ready to play with us. 

His gardens are famously weedless. He took such pride in them. Not only did he have gardens, but he also put in a small apple orchard. He would plant an acre of sweet corn, and when it was harvested, he would put it in the back of his truck, park it at the end of the road, and we would sell the corn. Dad taught me how to drive the tractor to work the field. 

When Dad was 66, he decided to start walking for exercise. I was also very into exercise, so we really bonded on it. He started walking more and more every day and started to keep track of how many miles he had gone. He set a goal to walk the same amount of miles that it would take to walk the distance around the earth, 24,901.55 miles. At the age of 76, he achieved his goal. I talked him into doing a 5K with me and my daughter Amy when he was 70.  I told him it was a run/walk, so he could just walk it. Unbeknownst to me, he decided that he was going to start running. So when it was race day, he ran the whole race. I was so proud of him. Nothing can top watching him running across the finish line. 

Dad went on to run two more races with us. At age 71, he ran a 5K in 29 minutes. At age 75, he ran a 5K in 35 minutes. 

He is my inspiration. I hope to continue to walk and run as he did into his 80s. 

Alzheimer's took Dad away from us in the end. It was so hard for him as he lost his memory. He was aware it was going away, and he hated it. It robbed him of so many things. It is an awful disease. 

When Mom died last year, it was so hard on Dad. They had been married for 64 years. They had been friends since they were teenagers. He was lost without her. She was his life. 

I look at this picture and I imagine that Dad was writing a love letter to Mom. 

Dad told us all over and over again that he was ready to go. He did not understand why he was still alive when Mom was not with him.  His only wish was to be with Mom. 

This has always been my favorite photo of Mom and Dad. They were young and in love, sitting under the willow tree in my Dad's family home. Because of this picture and my memory of that tree, I have always wanted a willow tree. 

So when we moved into our latest house, it came with a willow tree. The day that Dad died, the northern lights were so bright. 

I looked towards my willow tree and saw this. I believe Mom and Dad were sending me a sign that they were happily reunited again. 

It has only been a year since Mom died. Even though I know that Dad is happy now, I selfishly want him back. I am still learning to live without my Mom, and now I have to learn to live without my Dad...

Sharon