17

I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason.  We are led to those who help us most to grow if we let them and we help them in return.  I don't know if I believe its true, but I know I am who I am today because I knew you. -Wicked

I realize I've already done a shout out to my college girls, but there are some individuals from college who specifically will be mentioned.  Today is one of the greatest human beings I have ever met.

Sarah and I lived down the hallway from one another when we moved into college in the fall of 2000.  We didn't get to know each other right away--she hung out with a girl I couldn't stand who stole everybody's food all the time.  I quickly found out that Sarah was just too nice to tell that girl to get lost, and somehow, Sarah and I started kicking it.  She and I have laughed endless laughs and shed tears together.  She woke my rear end up every single day my junior year to make sure I got to Biology 101 when I slept through my alarm.  We would rollerblade on the Waverly Rail Trail and laugh at her inability to tell the difference between a cow and a horse.  She came out to visit me in March of 2010 and we got to road trip around the Outer Banks, NC--and this all after she was stuck in airports for 36 hours due to a storm that came through.  Sarah has always been a giver, taking care of those around her and in the past several years going on Mission Navajo, a trip organized through her church in which she goes to help out on a Native American reservation.  Sarah is one of the most dependendable people I've ever met and I know how lucky I am to have her in my life.

I'll be staying at Camp Sarah Louise during my marathon weekend.  It will be the first time we've seen each other since March 2010 (minus the 10 minute stop at the Albert Lea truck stop at Christmas last year) and I am beyond excited to hug that girl!!

Lou, every one of us who has become your friend knows how incredibly lucky we are to have you in our lives.  :) 

18

Someday I'll find a way to show you just how lucky I am to know you. -Faith Hill

Labor Day weekend of 2000, I stepped foot into a state, into a city, and onto a campus where I did not know a single other soul. After 4 years at good ol' Wartburg College (U rah rah rah), I walked away with the most amazing friends that had become more like sisters and less like friends. Though I live over a thousand miles away from each and every one of them, and some I haven't spoken to since Rebecca's wedding, I still am thankful every single day for them. They are now spread out throughout the Midwest (IA, NE, KS) and the world (Spain!), but I know that if I ever needed a thing from any single one of them, they would be here in the blink of an eye. I will get to see a few of them when I'm back for the race--I wish I could see them all. For my Vollmer Ground/Res 107/Res 204 girls, and to those who let me pretend I was Knights Villager, thanks for the years of companionship, filled with:

Singing with brushes & curling irons

Eucharist on Wednesday nights

Stealing bagels from the caf

Road trips to anywhere under the sun

Scary movie nights

Waking me up in time for class

Singing Sisqo & Kelis

Midnight breakfasts (those were so fun!)

Guitar jam sessions

You've got Mail

Bring it On

Big Bootie

Quote wall

And so much more.

Love you always, girls!!

19

A teacher has two jobs; fill young minds with knowledge, yes, but more important, give those minds a compass so that that knowledge doesn't go to waste.  -Mr. Holland's Opus

Today's blog is going to be short and sweet.  I could probably write an entire 5-paragraph essay about her, as she is the one who taught me to write them so well, but I'm afraid she would then send it back to me with corrections that need to be made. 

Kinka, ADBK, LLR, La

What I can say is that the phrase "When one door closes, another one opens" is evident in her involvement in my life.  Surprisingly enough, I was an arrogant fool in my younger years.  We wrote our first paper of the year in Advanced English 10 and turned it in. I got it back with a D.  Are you kidding me--a D?!?!  I had NEVER EVER gotten a D before, and I sure wasn't going to start now.  Surely my teacher had it wrong. I approached her and asked her if there had been a misunderstanding.  She explained to me that my expectations were much higher than before and that I was no longer going to be able to write a paper in 30 minutes the night before and expect a high grade.  I might have thrown a small tantrum as she clearly didn't know who I was and wasn't going to make exceptions for me.  She sent me home with a wounded ego and an offer to rewrite the paper for a higher grade.  When I got my returned paper back again with a B on it, she wrote "Don't give me anything less than this again."  Man, she was one tough cookie!!  More surprisingly, I was hook, line and sinker from then on out. 

This was only the beginning of the challenges she gave me.  My senior year, I took another class with her--one that typically students took just for an easy A, despite the amazing literature that was covered in the class.  Upon signing up for the class, she informed me that I would not be taking the same class as the other 20-some students, but would have an alternative syllabus with different/more challenging assignments.  She followed through on this and my expectations were twice that of any of the others, and I rose to the challenge.  On the less-than-educational side of things, she challenged me, personally, to really examine my life and figure out who I really was. 

ADBK, La, LLR

To this day, I still keep up with her, and plan my visits back to the Midwest so that I'm sure she'll be available to see me.  I can't believe that I haven't been her student for 11 years, and I still keep in touch with her--and her with me.  She was the ONLY person in life who ever challenged me to truly rise to my potential--until the past year or so when I began to challenge myself to do the same.  She went from being a warden, to a teacher, to a mentor, to a friend.  She will forever be one of the most influential people I've met in my life journey and will forever be indebted to her.  The guidance, safety, challenges, and caring that she offered were the window that opened when doors were closing, and I climbed into that window and held on for dear life. 

I look forward to seeing her face, the first familiar one I will see, when I get off that plane on October 12. 

20

Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot? Courage!  -Wizard of Oz

Naked baby Riah

As we are at the 20th day of the countdown, it seems only appropriate that it should be for my 20 year old sister, Mariah.  As I have never EVER called her by her first name, I will no longer refer to her as that for the remainder of the blog.  She does have over a dozen nicknames--but I will use the one I use most, Riah.

Riah & La in France--eating cheese!

She and I have had an indescribable connection since before she was even born.  I ALWAYS wanted a little sister.  I would go to the window at my house on University Avenue and peer out the window and recite "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might have this wish I wish tonight."  I'd then squeeze my eyes closed very tightly and repeat "I want a baby sister" over and over again.  I was CERTAIN that this was the reason my Mom got pregnant in 1990--wasn't I surprised when the birds and the bees explanation came!!  Riah was due in late May of 1991, but like the 2 babies before, my Mom knew she would be late.  My brother and I were getting tucked into bed on June 3 and all of a sudden I knew it--the baby was coming.  I wouldn't get into my bed until I packed an overnight bag.  Despite my parents both encouraging me to go to bed, I refused until that bag was packed, even waking up my brother to tell him to do the same.  Finally, I was packed and I let my parents tuck me into bed.  Within the next hour or two, my Mom came in to wake me up.  "Why?" you ask?  Because the baby was coming!!  We got dropped at the sitter's house while they went up to the hospital.  The next morning, my Dad showed up at the school to get us to go up to meet the new baby!! 

The fam!

From that night forward, she and I have always seemed to have had a telepathic connection--the thing you read about that twins have, except we are not twins (although my Grampa can't tell us apart, so we might as well be twins!) and I'm 9 years older.  She and I have had endless inside jokes, memories, fun times, and times that we just had to get through together.  She's one of the few people I can actually argue/fight with.  She's also one of the only people I don't hold a grudge against after the fight is over (Riah--sorry for holding you down and spitting on you when you were younger--I hope ou can forgive me).  She's the worst person to share a bed with (bed hog, covers hog, and "breathes deeply") but I'd gladly share one with her anyday if it means I could see her.  She is great at car trips--even when I am forcing her to hold a bag of sliced watermelon when the bag has a hole in it--except when I let her run the radio and we can't agree on which playlist/CD to listen to.  She has more "Dorothy" costumes than a Halloween store (and in various sizes--and a basket with a Pound Puppy) and can recite EVERY SINGLE LINE of Wizard of Oz from beginning to end.  She's one of the most musically gifted fools I've ever met, speaks French fluently, appreciates the old cartoon Recess, and keeps every secret I ever tell her.  She's the only visitor I've  had in NC that has visited more than once (I think it is 3 or 4 times?) and my Mom and I are the only visitors she had when she lived in France all of last year. 


The French Fam--Riah, Fred, Titouan, Steph & Manon

And while the kid is only 20 years old (she loves being reminded of the fact that she's still a kid....or not....), she is one of the bravest and strongest individuals I have ever met.  My parents (bless their hearts---oh, the joys of southern terms) were less than thrilled about the idea of Riah going overseas for a year--and who wouldn't be?!  It is far away from home, she knew nobody there, and it was costly.  While this is an experience that most of us would love to have but never take because we are chickens, Riah took it head on!!  She had the best year of her life and found "family" in a "new home."  I suppose if I have to share my sister with somebody, they are the ones!  So this kid is no  Cowardly Lion, that's for sure!
So there you have it, folks:  Sister of the Year award goes to Ri.  Or, as we like to say it: Riah geth the thithter of the year award, folkth--yes, we think lisping is fun, but even more fun to type out!



Cousins!  Lexie, La, Riah, Spencer

I also should add that Riah is going to do a 5k on the marathon day and is coming down from WI to see me.  Even though she wouldn't come to Elkhorn to pick me up (JERK!), she's still the best sister ever.  Best one I've ever had, anyway!!  And yes, she is available for rent, but not until she gets her butt back down here to visit again soon.  20 days till our race, Thithter!  XOXO

21

When the night has come and the land is dark and the moon is the only light we'll see, I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid just as long as you stand, stand by me.  -Ben E. King

When you think about the vastness of this earth, the population of the globe, and the absolutely minuscule possibility that my life should cross paths with others--my head could nearly explode.  .00000014% chance that I should meet any one individual--much less the individual who has been my longest friend, Amy. 

Amy & La, Summer 2010

We met when my family moved to Elkhorn, so I'd say when I was about 4 or 5.  I'm fairly certain that our Moms were in a baby-sitting coop together and we went to the same church.  I remember playing with Amy when I was little, and I most certainly remember when her house burned down (her family reports that this did not happen, but that a neighbor's house had a fire....).  I also remember my Mother trying every angle to get me to eat vegetables (and I still won't eat them), including "You know, Amy eats her vegetables."  The best stories of us happened when we became much closer when we were in high school.



Amy & Brooklyn

High school is a tough time for every teenager, and I was no exception.  I believe my senior year, I had 6 of my 8 classes with Amy, so at least I had a reason to show up for class!  She and I also did choir together and the plays/musicals, as well as driving to school together and sitting at the same lunch table.  There are so many details of our friendship--most of which she documented and attempts to remind me of because I forgot to much, but the one that is the most important:  Amy is always there for me.  When I was younger, she'd give me her Nature Valley granola bars for lunch & remind me about every test we had coming up.  Now that I'm older, she picks me up at the airport when I fly into town & checks in (despite her insanely busy schedule) regularly with me & my running progress.  Amy has known me from beginning to now and despite the stupid choices I've made, the selfish times I've had, and the insanity I've exposed her to, she has never once let me down.

This year brought about a significant life change for Amy.  She and her husband had their baby girl, Brooklyn, who is the most miraculously beautiful little girl I've ever seen--in pictures.  Less from 3 weeks from  now, I get to see her live!!  I know how incredibly lucky that baby girl is because she has the most thoughtful, loving, and dedicated Mother that the earth has ever known.

Amy Danielle, you have always been the constant in my life and I hope you know how much that has always meant to me.  :)

22

Families are like fudge--mostly sweet with a few nuts.  -Unknown

Well now that we've covered the Wulff Pack, we will go onto "The Other Side," not to be confused with "The Dark Side." 

Tom, Spencer, Lexie, Nancy (and a Bitty Baby)

As far as relatives go on the Jones side, I have one uncle, aunt and 2 cousins (one of which is my God daughter).  They are an energetic and entertaining crew!!  But since I can remember, we have spent Thanksgiving with Gramma and Grampa at their house and all of my Mom's cousins have joined for this tradition, as well, so they are also a part of "The Other Side." Counting my great aunt and great uncle, their kids, kids-in-law and grand kids, there are a total of 22 of them--so if we have all of them, plus my first cousins, we'd have a house of 32 at Thanksgiving.  And of course, Gramma doesn't allow for any feasting to occur until we have counted off everyone in the room, joined hands and done a prayer of Thanksgiving for our meal, our family, and our safe travels.

Aunt Meridee, Morgan, Uncle Lea

Every single one of these relatives is great--the age ranges are from 82 (Gramma and Grampa) to 5, and everywhere in between.  Thanksgiving and Christmas have always been my favorite holidays--and not because of the gifts--not that there are gifts at Thanksgiving.  One of my favorite comedians, Jim Gaffigan, does a shtick about family traditions and holidays:

Thanksgiving. It’s like we didn’t even try to come up with a tradition. The tradition is, we overeat.
“Hey, how about at Thanksgiving we just eat a lot?”
“We do that every day!”
“Oh. What if we eat a lot with people that annoy the hell out of us?”

Curt, Jody, Ethan, Peyton & Brenna

Nancy, Riah, Ida

Fortunately, that was never the case for me!  Well--the overeating part was true--but not with people who annoy me.  Eh--I take that back--sometimes the kids can get annoying--but in general, it has always been fun.  Not only does our family Thanksgiving time consist of amazing food (the usuals:  turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn casserole, etc., in addition to some Norwegian/family favorites:  lefse, Swedish meatballs and rice ring!), but other fun activities:

Jean & Charlie on the left--
they saved this lady's life last year!

-Uncles debating whether or not the lake is frozen enough to walk on--and then watching one fall through, clearly losing his argument
-Playing Canadian Rummy
-The kids/Dads going outside to play football
-Watching Vikings play
-The kids nagging about wanting to go to the basement to play pool
-Tom telling the kids that the basement is haunted
-NAPPING
-A post-dinner walk


One of the best parts of Thanksgiving:
Seeing Nancy!

Since moving to the South, I have only been back for one Thanksgiving (it gets pricey to fly back, especially doing it 2 months in a row for Christmas and Thanksgiving), but I have committed to myself that I will do it every other year.  This year is an off year, unfortunately, but that'll make next year all that much better.  I just hope somebody saves me some rice ring.

So mile 22 is for the Jones & Dobberstein family!

23

I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich.  -M*A*S*H

Zoe & Uncle Al

As I sit down to write today's entry, I laugh at the irony of it.  It is before 7:00 AM and I have corresponded emails with Uncle Al several times already.  Today's countdown post goes to that off (drum roll please)......

THE WULFF PACK.

Not everybody has a last name that is always misspelled, awkward to say (who puts an L and an F next to each other?  Germans!), but allows for a family title as beautiful as "Wulff Pack."  We are quite the crew.

Christmas 2010--Ugly Sweaters!!

My Dad is one of 4 boys and 1 girl.  In the South, my Dad would be described as "the nee baby," meaning second youngest.  All of the boys look alike--tall, bald, and have the same face.  And hairy backs.  All of my male cousins have that to look forward to.  Hey, Wulffs are hairy, what can we say?!  The entire Wulff pack consists of my family (Mom, Dad, Riah, me), 3 uncles, 4 aunts, 7 cousins, a cousin-in-law, and a brand new tiny baby boy!! 

Baby Jake & Baby Nate--did Jake remember his shoes
this year?

I did write earlier this week about the difficulty of living far away from family.  I grew up about 4 hours away from all of my MN cousins, and light years away from the VA cousins.   Despite this distance, I think every time I see any of my cousins, we interact more like siblings and less like cousins.  I'm the 3rd oldest of our generation--and the oldest girl--and the shortest of everybody (except the new baby--good thing he came along or I might have a complex!!).  The Wulff pack has developed some great family traditions--some of which have already been mentioned, but I think further detail is only appropriate.

"Up North" 2011

When my Grandparents were younger and their children were young, they began going on vacation "Up North."  For those who are not from the Midwest, "Up North" is a generic location meaning "somewhere in Northern Minnesota."  The brothers chose to carry on this tradition with their children, so summer after summer throughout my youth, we spent a week Up North with all of the relatives.  Every family had a cabin at a resort on the lake.  My Dad would bring the boat, Kev's family would bring the DVD player/VCR, Allan's family would bring the most amazing taco fixin's ever, Grandma would bring every condiment known to man in an old medicine bottle that she'd reused, and Ateen would bring the Mad Libs.  Every night, each family took turns hosting dinner, so we would rotate from house to house.  During the day, the adults mostly sat around reading or sleeping while the kids played in the water, knocked around a volleyball, and listened to Zoe whining (sorry Zo Zo, the truth must be heard).  The evenings were filled with bonfires, s'mores, ghost stories (Jake always told the best ones) and Mad Libs.  We all tubed, waterskiied, and spent an entire week with the family. 

Jenny--so happy!

Every Christmas has followed a very traditional meal--pizza.  Everybody would show up at Grandma's (and since she died, the uncles have taken turns hosting) and bring a few pizzas with.  Ateen mans the oven and hot pizzas are coming out every 10 minutes.  In the rare event that there is no pizza out, fear not!!  Grandma Penny's secret family recipe frosting has been placed upon delicious sugar cookies and these are eaten by the handful.  When Grandma lived at her old house, all the kids were to eat in the basement and the grown ups upstairs.  As a young child, I remember that we took turns opening gifts--but I couldn't tell you a single gift I got at Christmas because I was more excited to see all the relatives.  We always have a gas of a time.  In recent years, we have also added games to our Christmas Eve agenda, spending time laughing and enjoying games like Balderdash, Things, and always making time for a Holiday Mad Lib. 

Half of the dogs

As the Wulff Pack seems to mingle with its own kind, our family gatherings are also overrun with animals.  Between my Aunt and my Dad, I believe there are about 8 or 9 dogs at every family event--most of them collies, with a beagle & an Australian Shepherd in the mix.  Again--not a fan of these 4 legged beasts--but it wouldn't be a family gathering without them. 

Baby Zoe

When I moved down South, I had no idea how far away I would be from family.  Much to my surprise,  my VA cousins live less than 2 hours up the road.  My aunt's family has taken me in as their own, as well, and I've been lucky as can be to get to know this branch of the family that I've known the least because of the miles that had always been between us. 

Al, Jeff, Kev, Rusty & Andrea--Wulff sibs

My uncles are like having extra Dads--and hook me up with oil changes/car advice, free eye exams, and life advice.  And political opinions which provide free entertainment.  My aunts are like having extra Moms--Teresa even introduced me as her daughter at a volleyball game last year.  And as a whole, the entire Wulff pack works together as one, supporting each other in times of need, and providing laughter at every opportunity.

Nate, Riah, Jake, Zoe, Jenny, La, Mitch, Amy
Missing Aaron & Martha!

A couple of my cousins will be joining me at the marathon in Des Moines--and have even taken it a step further and registered for the 5k so they can also run that day. 

So if I have to get stuck with a last name like Wulff (double u-u-ell-eff as in frank, eff as in frank.....no double u U, not o, yes U, ell, eff as in Frank, eff as in Frank--yes, two effs,   yes a u--yes I  know it is an unusual spelling--oh you know someone who spells it like that?--well that's great--yes, we are German--yes, 2 F's....), I'm glad I can share it with my Pack!

Baby Aaron & Baby La