Photographs and Memories

Tis the season... for year end reviews, retrospectives, and resolutions.

While 2013 was my most exciting year in recent memory, with a some AWESOME accomplishments and life changes, I find myself at the end of it feeling a little, well, blah. And definitely ready to move on to 2014. Many of my friends are ready to shove 2013 out the door, as they have faced significant challenges - with the hope that things can only look up. But I think that is what we hope for every year, no matter how successful the previous one was -- that things will get better.

So maybe we'll have a brief photo recap of 2013 and some thoughts on where to go next. Sound good? Still hanging with me?

The year kicked off right with the Sgt. Preston Yukon King 6 mile run on New Year's Day. Clock (in red) and I came in last. It was pretty awesome.

And I escaped the Michigan winter in January to visit Mike in Arizona - he was still living and working there.

Sunset heading towards Tuscon

But by March... he was on his way back to Michigan for good!

Just under 2000 miles from Phoenix to Kalamazoo!

I was already hatching my plans to run the Marine Corps Marathon and had set my sights on running the 5/3 River Bank 25k. As I wrote about before, the training didn't go well and my first half marathon of the season was rough. The weekend of my 33rd birthday was spent in Bloomington, IN for the Hoosier Half.

April came and went and Mother's Day (and Riverbank) was upon us! 

Kari's first 25k, my second 10k

As June rolled around I was finally ready to kick my running into high gear and I hit one of the low points of the year. On June 8, 2013, my grandmother passed away. 

Jamie, Jessica, Troy and Grandma
at Troy and Jessica's wedding reception, Aug 2010

The summer became an endless cycle of work, running and car trouble. In July, Mike and I took a much needed vacation to California to visit Troy, Jessica and Nolan (of course!!) and to do some sightseeing around the Bay Area. It was my first time visiting Yosemite and Alcatraz. We hit many of the San Francisco highlights in one whirlwind day, including Golden Gate Park, which clearly doesn't impress Nolan.

Shortly after returning from California, decided to get off the car repair merry-go-round. I bought my first ever new car (not hand-me-down from a family member), a 2013 Chevy Cruze. Kari suggested the name "Penelope Cruze," and she has treated me well the last few months. The downside is having an actual car payment and the car insurance hike that comes from having a car newer than your high school diploma.

I don't know about you, but I think the most logical thing to do after buying a new car and incurring a bunch of expenses is to change jobs and move. No?? Well I was never one for taking advice.

In late August, I accepted an offer at United Way of the Lakeshore, where I started my United Way career in 2009. I left my great colleagues at United Way in Kalamazoo after 3.5 years. It also meant leaving my running group, EcoTrekkers, friends, Jaycees and roomies, Heather and Shark.

Oh and I had to move. I hate moving. Dad and Mike hate it more.



My move to back to Muskegon put Mike's plans for home improvement on the fast track, as there were several projects he hoped to have done before Crookshanks and I arrived. Fast and furious work on painting, carpets and the kitchen, as well as some exterior updates took place over a 2-week period.

Crookshanks approves these updates

Throughout the summer, the move, the changes, I was still rolling towards the Marine Corps Marathon goal. I had my injury setback, detailed here, but was able to have some beautiful training runs.

Summer was quickly coming to a close and I was raising money like mad for the Epilepsy Therapy Project. I also spent a lot of time in little engine mode when mentally preparing for the marathon: I think I can, I think I can. One more race and it was time to head to DC.

Too good not to post - the Grand Rapids Marathon Relay Crew. And Mike's thumb.

I've detailed the marathon here, but there are more photos to share and always more story to tell.

Welcome to DC!

What?? You finished a marathon? You can still stand up? You're kidding!!

Ok, maybe that was just my internal monologue, but honestly, this was one of the best days of my life so far. I'm so glad that Mike, Mom, Dad and Kari were on the adventure with me!



It seems that the whole year was all about the marathon, but really, it was only about 6 months. Haha. Now that we've gotten through October and the REALLY BIG THING, as I had taken to calling it, I could focus on ending the year strong.

The runner ladies and I took to the apple orchards again this year for the Dirty Duel Trail Race. No action shots, but I think this will suffice:

With the holidays approaching, Mom, Dad, and I took a trip out to California in early December. We celebrated Christmas with Troy, Jessica and Nolan by completely spoiling the little bugger, eating all the cookies that Jessica made with no help, and having Thai food for Christmas dinner. Mike had already made plans to attend the Big 10 Championship game in Indianapolis to watch MSU beat Ohio State, so he didn't make the trip with us.

Nolan is ready to go

Aunt Jamie and Nolan spend some quality time

Almost the family Christmas card

With the holiday season properly kicked off, I returned home in the "spirit" and convinced Mike we had to get a Christmas tree. We HAAAADDD to get a Christmas tree.

Umm... isn't that the most awesome Christmas tree you've seen yet today? Yes, it does need an angel or a star. We're working on it.

I don't have many pictures from Christmas itself or the various festivities, so you'll have to trust me that this is a good representation. This is most of the Helsen women at our annual cookie exchange (and also the day of our holiday gathering). It was the first Christmas without Grandma, but we had 50 people at the house celebrating, so a wonderful celebration!

That's about it for the photo retrospective, kiddos. They're mostly rehashes, but a good reminder of where I've been this year and how lucky I am. 

In 2013 I was blessed with health, opportunity, endurance, encouragement, friendship and love. I don't know if I can ask for more out of 2014. Perhaps it's best not to get greedy and instead try to build on the abundance of gifts I have in front of me in these closing days of 2013.

My final words on 2013 come from the later verses of the traditional New Year's Eve song, Auld Lang Syne:

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we've wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

And there's a hand my trusty friend!
And give us a hand o' thine!
And we'll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

Happy New Year!

In Memory

On Saturday, June 8, my sweet grandmother, Dorothy Helsen, passed away. She was 85 (and 1/2) and lived a long, full life. I loved her dearly and miss her already and can't say anything better than what my dad said at her funeral. Here is his eulogy and his tribute to his mother - wife of Ike, mother of 10, grandmother of 25, great-grandmother of 14 and a woman known for her faith and kindness in her town and beyond:

Dorothy Helsen, May 17, 2013

On behalf of my brothers and sisters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, aunts and uncles, I want to thank you for being here today to celebrate the life of Dorothy Mae Helsen (Mom).  We are blessed to be part of the St. Catherine’s parish and Ravenna communities, as many people have been here to help our family through these final weeks of Mom’s life.  It is impossible to thank everyone, but the people who provided care for her are truly special people and she loved every one of you.

Mom was a person who lived, loved, and left a legacy.  She was a person who had tremendous patience, and organizational and time management skills.  She was able to get ten children ready for church with only one bathroom in the house.  Each summer we would spend a week in the Upper Peninsula on vacation, but it was not much of a vacation for Mom. She would be cooking and cleaning the cabin while the rest of us fished, swam and had fun, but she did it without complaining because it was the only time Dad took time away from the farm and she knew we all loved going there.  We had to go with other families in order to have enough seats in the car for everyone.  So thanks to Uncle Gene’s family, the Shillings, and the Gilberts, we were able to get twelve people to the U.P.  each summer.

Mom celebrated life in so many ways, but especially through her cooking and family celebrations.  Mom made a jelly roll on Lincoln’s Birthday (Lincoln log), cherry pie on Washington’s Birthday, owl cookies
for Halloween,  church window cookies for the annual Helsen cookie exchange day, and homemade apple pie on Sundays was almost a given.  Feeding a large farm family was a very large job and Mom was able to prepare a meal at times from what seemed to be nothing, much like Jesus did in the parable of the Loaves and the Fishes.   We even created some of our own holidays, like Pumpkin Day.  Dad would plant pumpkins each year and when it was time to harvest, the entire family would get together and take a hayride to the pumpkin patch to gather the pumpkins.  All the pumpkins would be loaded on wagons and brought back to the house and each child would claim as many pumpkins as they wanted, and then we would have a family meal together.   After the meal, a game of touch football or whiffle ball was more than likely to take place.

Mom lived her faith, loved her church and community, and was always ready to help when it was needed.    She was always there to provide food for funeral luncheons and was in charge of the annual turkey dinner at St. Catherine’s for many years.  Many people of this parish benefited from Mom’s prayers in their time of need.  Her devotion to her faith was an inspiration to everyone, and she didn't miss a day without saying at least one rosary, and with the help of Aunt Helen, Mom got in one last rosary right before she died.

Mom’s love for her family was large and she had a way of making each one of us feel special as individuals. For example, she let each of us choose what we wanted for breakfast (even chicken noodle soup), or what we wanted for our birthday dinner and the kind of birthday cake we wanted.   Mom loved life and instilled in all of us that it is the simple things in life that matter.  Mom had great intuition and could tell if we were sad, worried, anxious, or needed a hug, and she knew exactly what to say and when to say it. She always took care of us even as we provided care for her.

So today, we celebrate the life of a beautiful lady who is now resting in the arms of the angels.  She taught us much about love, faith and the value of family.  May we always remember her lessons and treat others with kindness and caring in the same way.  We miss her already and we’ll always love her “a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.”

Ike and Dorothy Helsen, October 1948