Karwoski Life

Well, Christmas has come and gone and we’re staring down the end of another year. I have mixed emotions about the New Year, for some reason. I think I’ve been sort of in a reflective mood lately – they come and go from time to time. It’s just so very hard to believe that it has been over 4 years…FOUR YEARS since our lives took this unexpected turn. Incredible. Impossible. Just so hard to believe. Matt had just turned 30…I was still in my 20’s…now we’re both approaching our MID thirties. Incredible. Impossible. And yet, here we are. Sometimes, like Christmas morning when we woke up to ice on top of snow and I was forced to dig us out on my own, I find myself completely consumed with self pity, sadness, and the overwhelming feeling of unimaginable loss. I hate to admit how pitiful I can be, especially to Matt. He had no idea how I struggled with the snow and ice as he showered and readied himself for the day. I pouted, whined, and fumed in the driveway…the snow blower no help against the...

So, Amy and I completed our first 5K without incident last Saturday. It was a cold, cold morning…but we pulled through! I woke up early Saturday morning and felt a little bit excited about the run…wondering what it would be like, how we would do, how many people would be there…so many questions. Amy and I got our packets of info and readied ourselves for the race inside West Des Moines City Hall. Looking around at the variety of runners, I felt much more at ease. There were clearly some serious runners…one guy was even wearing SHORTS, but there were also groups of walkers, and friends dressed up in their holiday gear…it was very laid back and the atmosphere was upbeat and relaxed. The parks and rec guy made a few announcements…’Runners….blah, blah, blah’ Runners. I giggled…he said runners. Me…in a group of …runners. Where am I? Who am I? Finally we lined up and started the race…one of the local TV stations captured it on camera and we have video evidence of the running captured on ou...

Holy Blizzard, Batman!!! So, we’re in the midst of what could go down as one of the storms of the century! It’s hardly December, we’ve hardly begun to think about winter being upon us and then WHAMO…here it is! I can’t believe the forecasters were actually right this time…whenever they predict big snow, we rarely see it come to fruition. But this time…yep…a foot of snow, easy. I can’t help but think back to this past Saturday when Amy and I met to run on the path around the lake near her house…it was cold, but sunny and it felt good to run outside. Um, I think my days of running outside may be over for the winter! To top it all, we are running in our first 5K this Saturday! I have no doubt that the route will be clear and we’ll be able to run it without incident…the snow will sure make it festive!! And I’m sure Blake and Matt will thoroughly enjoy sitting at the finish line waiting for us in the cold and snow! Ahh…true love and support. This past Saturday Matt and I had Matthew and Meg...

Well the holiday season is upon us once again and we’re starting to feel ready for it. Last week was a bit of an up and down…and REALLY down week for us. On Saturday, the 21st I spent the day at the Iowa/Minnesota football game with a group of friends. It was a cool, fall day – just perfect for football and I had a blast. We headed out early in the morning on my friend Jami’s bus. She and her husband have a small school bus that they’ve used to tailgate at Iowa games for years. I was excited to be able to ride over with them and immerse myself in complete football mania unlike any I’ve experienced before. We bumped into a couple celebrities while tailgating – Zach Johnson (the famous golfer) and Michelle Monaghan (an actress)…and of course Gina and I had our picture taken with Herky…the biggest celebrity at the game, I’m sure! It was a good, good day…which swiftly came to a screeching halt when I arrived home to a very sore Matt. While I was off gallivanting at the game and having a we...

I found out recently that an old friend of mine has breast cancer. It’s pretty shocking to know someone in my age group going through something this, well, scary. I think sometimes I somehow separate myself and Matt from groups of people who’ve gone through major life changing experiences…I don’t always acknowledge how profoundly different our own life is from what it once was…or how most everyone we know lives today. It must be because I strive to always see the good in our situation…to project to the world, and to myself, how normal we really are…even though how not ‘normal’ our life really is. I think about all the things that my friend will be going through in the coming weeks and months and it really just kind of shakes your core. Amy and I have both been impacted by the news of our mutual friend’s cancer journey…and as a friend you just feel so helpless. One way Amy thought we could show our love and support, and possibly achieve some personal goals, was to train for and run the...

So we’re sitting on the couch last night getting ready to settle in and watch some TV. I hand Matt a bowl of homemade chex mix and a glass of eggnog (yes, I succumbed to the pressure and bought him some at the store on Saturday), and he turns to me and says ‘You know, I’ve been thinking. Even with everything that’s happened to me, I’ve got it pretty good.’ I smiled and asked him what made him think that (besides the obvious answer…eggnog!). He said while yes, the eggnog was nice…it was more of a feeling of contentment with things…the fact that I make him yummy snacks, and buy him his beloved eggnog are just part of it…but I think they all sort of sum up to just being grateful…for all the good things in the life we’ve made together. I can’t tell you how good it makes me feel to hear him say things like that…and how much I really love doing what I can to foster that feeling of contentment. It makes me feel like I am somehow fulfilling my purpose…by working with Matt to make the most of ...

Wow – November already. It’s hard to believe! October came and went without much fanfare and now we find ourselves making plans for the upcoming holiday season. It’s crazy to be thinking about holiday get togethers, lists, shopping etc...but here it is, just around the corner. Matt had his first call from his dad that their beloved AE eggnog was in the stores and of course he whined and gave me his best pitiful pretty-please face each time I went to get groceries until I finally caved in and came home with some. As ridiculous as I think it is that anyone would want to drink eggnog (on a regular basis) from October through January…how could I refuse him ONE half gallon? I made sure he understood that I would not be buying him eggnog each time I went for groceries…that he’d have to savor the eggnog and once it was closer to Christmas and more acceptable to be drinking it, then I’d pick it up here and there. A week or so later his folks came down for dinner while I was out shopping with ...