Karwoski Life

I don’t mean to be a Valentine’s Day hater…but really…I kind of hate it. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an aversion to what has so blatantly become a ‘Hallmark’ holiday. The older I get, the more I feel like Charlie Brown searching for the meaning of Christmas…only there isn’t so obvious an answer in the end. I guess I ultimately don’t see the point in showering your true love with gifts a plenty on this one day that’s magically deemed special. It seems so…forced. And really, it’s like you’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. If you’re in a relationship and your significant other doesn’t do something for you on Valentine’s Day…you are disappointed. If you act disappointed, then your lover feels bad and then feels obligated to remedy the situation with a last minute run to Hy-Vee for flowers…or some such thing. And then you feel bad when they return with what was surely the last tiny handful of baby’s breath…and they feel bad…and you feel bad. If you aren’t in a relat...

The other day I was talking to a friend about things…and she mentioned how lucky I seem to be. She rattled off a few examples of things that seemed to just plop in my lap, out of the blue, in some sort of mysteriously amazing good timing. She said she was frustrated that none of the ‘good luck’ seems to fall on her lap. I shrugged my shoulders and waved her off, because standing there I didn’t know quite what to say, or have the time to get into the deeper conversation I felt the subject warranted. But later, I couldn’t help but come back to that conversation and think about the idea of luck and coincidences. Over the past few years, I’ve definitely pondered coincidences and God’s will. I know a lot of people who struggle to determine what God’s will for their life is, they question why bad things happen to good people and really question whether things DO happen for a reason or not. But for me, it’s been so clearly proven, it’s hard to dispute. I think back on our life since Matt’s ...

So it’s been a while…a long while. Sometimes I have such a long dry spell without any updates that I begin to wonder if I should let this blog drift off quietly into the blogosphere. But then ultimately, I guess there’s still a part of me with something to say. So here I am. It’s the beginning of a new month, in the new year…so why not just dive on in?? Matt and I are doing…well…we’re doing pretty darn well. The Jingle Jog 2 mile run/walk went off without much fanfare. Amy and I walked the route and my foot held up just fine. I did long to be able to run…but still felt good being out early on a Saturday morning in frigid temperatures, speed walking around the frozen lake. Sounds nice, right? It wasn’t the exciting finale to my year of running – but the t-shirt is pretty cute, and Amy and I still managed to have a good time. I know there will be more opportunities for fun runs in 2011, and in fact, we are set to run the Red Flannel 5K again on the 12th of February. I’ve been running ...

Sometimes I think that God has a pretty good way of keeping me in my place…making sure I don’t get too big for my britches, if you will. Just when I think I’m not looking too bad, or I’m somewhat pleased with a certain part of my outfit, for example and the tiniest bit of a strut creeps into my step, I can certainly expect to trip. Or spill something. Or run smack dab into a door, wall, or some other inanimate object. That’s how it seems to go for me. So it’s no surprise that just after writing my post about being so grateful, and having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with my family, and perhaps feeling a little bloated with pride at how good I have it…that Matt would say something so profoundly upsetting that it knocked me back down a few notches. As you know, I’ve had my moments of irrational impatience for what surely must be the longest surgery recovery EVER. Of course I am aware that duh, they cut my bones and screwed them back together with pins and obviously that is going to t...

It’s Thanksgiving this week and I can’t help but find myself pondering all that I have to be thankful for. I’ve had my share of grumbly moments these past few weeks, as I’ve been recovering from my foot surgery. I am not the most patient person…and I’ve found myself frustrated at the slow pace of my healing bones. (Seriously, I KNOW I am ridiculous.) I’ve had to hang up my running shoes for a while and I’ve shocked myself that I might.just.actually.miss.running! Well, maybe not the actual running…but the feeling I have knowing I CAN run…that I’ve accomplished all these milestones in my running journey. There is a certain feeling that comes over me as I’m crossing the finish line of a race, or browsing through the race photos later, or putting on one of my race shirts, or looking at my precious medal (I still can’t believe I completed a half marathon!). It is an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and pride…and I admit - I miss that. As the weeks are slowly ticking by, I am looking ...

This week I had bunion surgery on my right foot. It’s something I’ve been contemplating off and on for a while as my foot has grown increasingly painful over the past several months…but the opportunity for surgery itself popped up rather quickly. Weighing all the pros and cons to having the surgery it seemed there would never be a good time to do it. With all my responsibilities around the house I worried about the recovery time. But, talking it over with Matt we decided to take the plunge and just get it over with…crossing our fingers that the weather wouldn’t be too bad while I’m waddling around in the post-op shoe. My mom, who had just gone home a week before after driving up for Grandma’s b-day dinner, insisted on driving back up to help me out around the house. Being the stubborn person that I am, and not wanting to burden her with another trip, I tried to reassure her that she didn’t have to come. But a mother knows better, I guess. She was 100% right. I would have been in bad, b...

October has been a super crazy month filled with amazing experiences, good times, and so many good friends. It was the culmination of 2 important runs for me – the Disney ½ Marathon, and also the Des Moines Race for the Cure. As you know – it was nearly one year ago that Amy first approached me with this crazy notion of learning to run so that we could run the Race for the Cure event in honor of our friend Julie who had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. I distinctly remember how she approached me…as we were shopping at our favorite mall. I’m sure my first reaction was…um…no way. Me? Run? You’re nuts. But it didn’t take long for me to come around. I mean, just having Amy consider the idea of running was amazing enough. She has always shared my opinion that running for fun was a myth. So, I thought…if Amy wants to do it…then I suppose I can get on board. It wasn’t long before the type A personality in me found a way to tackle what was surely a very foreign concept. Researching, we...