Karwoski Life

So I went to Ireland! My dear friend Gina had asked me to go after her parents had found an amazingly good deal for a group of 4. We’d been plotting and planning and preparing for MONTHS for this awesome trip of a lifetime…and in a flash it was behind us. We spent six days exploring and wandering around the Emerald Isle, taking in all the sights and sounds. It was simply beautiful there! We saw the usual tourist spots, and I even sort of kissed the Blarney Stone! We ate plenty of great Irish food (lots of fish ‘n chips) as well as several types of Irish beer (ale? and cider) We managed to find some quaint pubs to sit back and enjoy our meals in, as well as some great Irish music. We stayed in a beautiful golf resort apartment most nights, but stayed one night in a cute, bed and breakfast – all wonderful accommodations. The weather was amazingly warm and sunny most days, the daffodils were blooming all over the island, and the Irish folks were friendly and welcoming nearly every plac...

Davy Jones died today. I know that many of you aren’t even sure who Davy Jones is…and those of you, who do know, will find it odd that I should care. But as I sat down to eat my lunch and saw the headline on the internet, I had to fight to hold back a few tears. It’s not that I knew him personally or anything like that. I realize he wasn’t family or a family friend even…but to the 12 year old girl inside me – he was huge. I instantly thought of how I felt a few summers ago as we listened to him sing at the state fair. I remember how giddy I was when he flashed that adorable smile, at the sound of his voice, his wonderful English accent, and those old familiar songs – which I knew (and happily sang) word for word. Matt patiently sat nearby, drenched from the thick summer air while I danced and giggled and clapped my hands. Hearing those favorite tunes from my youth instantly transported me back in time and I couldn’t help but beam with joy from deep, deep within. You have to know, I sim...

Six years, four months, and twenty-seven days ago Matt had a brain hemorrhage and our lives were forever altered. In the beginning I wavered between feeling that surely someday Matt would return to his old self, and deep, dark fear that surely he never would be the same again. It was a rollercoaster of emotion that I happily stepped off of years ago. While there will always be a part of us that pines for the ‘old Matt’, and hopes for complete healing…most of the time we can’t help but be amazed out how GOOD things have turned out for us. Matt has come so far over the past few years – SO far… I thought I might spend some time going through old milestones and memories, but they've pretty much all been mentioned on here already. And really, this post would probably end up sounded pretty braggy – and you know how I hate to be braggy. However, last weekend Matt did something so completely unexpected and so wonderfully HUGE for him that it pretty much deserves its own post…he went sled...

The other day I was rummaging through storage bins in the basement and came across a big bag of cards. I paused for a moment, as I realized they were cards I had collected during Matt’s early days in the hospital, his weeks in rehab, and months after…including his time in Omaha. As I sat down to peruse the cards, I couldn’t stop the tears. There were just so many wonderful notes and thoughtful messages. We amassed cards from co-workers, family, friends, and friends of friends. All so caring. I remembered all over again how much they had meant to me – knowing that Matt wouldn’t be able to read or understand them for weeks and months to come. Their words comforted me, encouraged me to keep doing what I could do to keep us moving forward. I simply can’t express how much they meant to me then, and how much they still mean to me now. One in particular stood out. Its sentiment ringing as true today as it did then. It read: ‘With God every day is a day To hope for the very best - To believ...

I used to be fat. I’m not gonna lie. Tip toe or skirt around it. I’m tough enough to handle it now. This is a fact that I’ve come to accept about myself. I know I resisted it for more years than I care to admit to. Pretending that I wasn’t THAT big. Or that my weight wasn’t THAT out of control. I had a husband who adored me regardless of my shape or size. I had a family who supported me in all my endeavors and never said anything negative about my size. I had friends who were in my same boat, struggling with an ever increasing pant size. I cringed when I saw myself in pictures, but I went about my daily business as though nothing I was doing was contributing to it. With each changing season, I was frustrated to find my clothes snug. I halfheartedly attempted to drop some weight now and then…starting and stopping when I tired of it all. Eventually, I settled in at a size 18, tipping the scales at over 225 lbs. At barely 5’3”…I was in that dreaded ‘morbidly obese’ category on the heigh...

I love college football. I love the sounds; the referee whistles, the bands (other than the OU band that sounds their little victory ditty at each and every perceived positive play), the commentators as they get excited over trick plays or amazing catches. I love listening to the back stories of kids overcoming adversity, of coaches making huge differences in their lives, of underdog teams coming from nowhere to beat their rivals against the odds. I write this now from the comfort of my spot on the couch, curled up in my ISU snuggie, watching the Beef ‘OBrady’s Bowl game with Matt and enjoying every minute. We’ve always enjoyed college football, but the past few years, we’ve definitely become addicted. (Perhaps it’s the warm oven fresh chex mix I make) but each Saturday from early fall through the bowl game mania we find ourselves stretched out on either end of the couch to watch game after game after game. It is a tradition we’ve ‘cleverly’ named Football Saturday…and our close fr...

Oh my-lanta I love my family. We spent the long Thanksgiving weekend at my parents’ house in Oklahoma; me and Matt, and Hope, Chad, Meghan, and Matthew. The house was full…literally. Full of our junk exploding all over the house, full of the sounds of the kids chasing each other (and Buddy) around, full of food overflowing the fridge and countertops, full of laughter, and football, and bodies strewn over couches and recliners. Ahhh…it was a wonderful weekend with my family. I can’t say enough how much I value weekends like this. While I hate the fact that we have to travel so far to spend time with my parents, there is a certain something special about the fact that we all descend on their house at the same time and stay for several days. I actually enjoy waking up early to find my parents, still in their pajamas, visiting over their morning caffeine choices (Mom with her coffee and Dad with his Diet Coke) and listening to Meghan and Matthew as they chatter about this and that (the wil...