YOU DON'T HAVE TO SEE THE WHOLE STAIRCASE. . .

It's hard to believe it's almost time to Hustle Up the Hancock once again but the event is coming up on Sunday, February 24. I wanted to post today because it is a day of service and remembrance in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s honor, and because his beautiful quote about faith is so fitting to not only our literal effort of climbing but also Carol's bravery in how she lived with and fought her disease.

We lost Carol just a month after the 2012 Hustle Up the Hancock. 2013 will be our fourth year participating in the event and we are so pleased to have our biggest team ever this year of both climbers and cheer squad members (live and virtual).

Matt and Carol (in her "I HAVE CLIMBERS!" hoodie) after our first Hustle (2010)

Our team is called Carol's Climbers because we climb in memory of an amazing woman, Carol Knoepke, my mother-in-law. Carol fought a brave and tough battle with interstitial lung disease for two decades. Anyone who knew her misses her and the light her smile and spirit brought each room she was in. 

While no tribute could ever be enough to capture her spirit and spunk, the Hustle Up the Hancock is fitting as the stair-climbing event is a challenge, a call-to-action, and a celebration.

All donations will support the mission of Respiratory Health Association to promote healthy lungs and fight lung disease through research, advocacy and education. We appreciate your support in all forms.

DONATE IN SUPPORT OF CAROL'S CLIMBERS NOW

Thank you, with love,

Diane and CAROL'S CLIMBERS

CAROL'S CLIMBERS 2010: Ryan, Carrie, Diane and Matt

CAROL'S CLIMBERS 2011: Matt and Diane

CAROL'S CLIMBERS 2012: Carrie, Diane and Angel

FIRST, THE FOOTBALL

As I work on getting back in the blogging habit, it's only fitting to start with how we spent a lot of our fall in 2012: FOOTBALL!

LOVE THE PURPLE! GO 'CATS!!!

Northwestern had a terrific season and just became Gator Bowl victors on New Year's Day, their first bowl win since ten years before Alaska and Hawaii became states.

We road-tripped to Ann Arbor to see the 'Cats lose in an overtime heartbreaker. The game was so emotional we got hugs and condolences from the Michigan fans who happened to be sitting around us. We stayed with Lisa and Ed in Kalamazoo and they presented me with a giant glass of wine when we got back from the game. And I needed (and drank) every drop! :)

BEAT MICHIGAN! C'MON!!!

Rare purple at The Big House

And we even got to a University of Chicago game! My first, but definitely not my last. Maybe next year we'll actually attend one in Chicago! Matt promises me there's even a special Hyde Park version of tailgating.

John, me and Matt watching U of C v. Wittenberg

Some more snapshots of the fun and food we had in 2012. . .

Us in front of the new tent--we are fancy tailgaters now!

John with a beer and the Sportula--all you really need for a proper tailgate. . . 

Ryan, Jenny sporting the Willie head, me and the Sportula!

Ed, Lisa, me, Ryan, Matt, and Eric

Dad got in on the action

Mom, John and Matt--they kind of look like a bar chart, don't they? :)

Cold weather 'Cats!

So much spirit, so much yum.

So good. . . 

Purple Sangria will definitely be back next year

Healthy and delicious tailgating fare

You pay quite a premium for purple M&Ms but they sure looked and tasted good!

Baby Animals, Fried Food, Aerialists. . . Just Another Business Trip

I have a client in Calgary right now and we purposely planned a workshop during the Calgary Stampede, a ten-day celebration of Western heritage, agriculture, music and gluttonous food products. 

Some highlights:

Hangin' with The Duke

Baby sheep. My voice went up a few octaves.

Entrance to the Calgary Stampede

One of the Show Bands that popped up around the park to play and dance

Chuckwagon Races (NASCAR with Conestogas!)

Have hat, will Stampede.

These guys were impressive.

The night show surprised us--singing, dancing, gymnastics on bicycles, pyro, aerialists, and more.

Cirque de Stampede!

They were doing the same moves as the stage performers while swinging above the crowd.

This greeted us just inside the gate and there were hundreds more like it.

This is Fried Kool-Aid. Batter with a lot of Kool-Aid mixed it and then fried. Quite yummy.

We heard a lot about the Mini Donuts before we got there. 

The Mini Donuts lived up to the hype. Hot and delicious.

We Had a Picnic and Idina Menzel Showed Up!

We love Ravinia, but man is it far North for two South Side Mice! While it took most of a day, our recent trek to Ravinia to hear Idina Menzel, Marvin Hamlisch and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was worth every second.

And, even better, we got to spend the afternoon and evening with dear friends Ronald (finally living in Chicago!) and Rebecca. We had an awesome time together listening to great music and laughing at Matt and me as we both spilled and broke things like drinks and chairs. And we enjoyed sharing our memories and love of RENT and Wicked (Idina's most famous Broadway performances). OK, so maybe Matt wasn't super talkative at that part of the conversation, but he agrees Idina's smoking hot and insanely talented.

me, Ronald, Rebecca and Matt before the show

We did not run out of food.

We had lawn tickets but we went and stood outside the pavilion to catch a glimpse of Idina. She was a complete and bawdy riot--swearing and making hilariously unscripted (or at least seemingly so) observations to the audience. After Idina made a particularly off-color comment, Marvin Hamlisch said, "huh, you wouldn't think [given her bawdy language] this was a 5:00 show. . . I mean. . .there are people sitting out there eating M&Ms!"

She was battling a cold that had left her with a lot of phlegm on her vocal cords and she struggled a bit through the performance. She still hit most of her notes and belted out an amazing set. She  brought a lot of folks from the audience to sing parts of some of her hits with her, and this is video from her encore. I just love it and how generous and enthusiastic Idina was. If you watch, be sure to stay to the end--the girls in it are adorable and the song gives me good chills.

Belated 4th of July (Or, A Very Early Tailgate)

We sure do love tailgating, and the heat of this summer has made us even more excited for football weather. John's birthday/Father's Day present was a Northwestern tailgate tent for us to use at the seven (7!) NU home games during the upcoming 2012 season. So, why not go ahead and set it up in our backyard as a trial run?

I had to work on the Fourth (Canadian clients!) so we did a belated weekend tailgate the Saturday after and set up the tailgate tent. It's awesome and there will be lots of room for friends to join us!

Setting up the tent

I might be ready for some (Wildcat) football. It makes me laugh that, without planning to do so, Matt and I REGULARLY wear competing U of Chicago and NU shirts, respectively. See also:

OK, so this one was planned. About this time, seven years ago, we were taking Chicago/NU photos
for  use in wedding-related materials.

Celebrating Carol

I haven't blogged in several months, as I knew I couldn't write another post until I shared a tribute to Carol. We lost Matt's mom in March and it's been difficult finding out what life's like without hearing her voice and seeing her smile in real time.

Last weekend, Matt, John and I went to Montana to celebrate her life and join in a memorial with her family and friends in Butte.

At the memorials in Munster (IN) and Butte (MT), I shared a version of the following eulogy:

Hi, as most of you know, I'm Diane, and I have had the honor of being Carol's daughter in law the last seven years. 


Before I met Matt, I didn't think I would find myself being a daughter in law to anyone. 


And before I met Carol, I didn't think I would find that my mother in law would be one of my favorite people. 


When I met Carol, I found her unbelievably sweet and humble and I was delighted to find a wry sense of humor that cut through the sweetness like ice cream on pie. 


I certainly didn't think I would later find out that she was the first woman ever to get a master's in metallurgical engineering from Montana Tech. 

But that's Carol. All quiet tenacity and good-natured toughness. Humble, but driven. 


Carol was born in Butte, Montana on November 1, 1948 to Ryan and Jeanette Trythall. She was one of four siblings: two boys, two girls. Brothers Bruce and Jerry and little sister Nellie. The family was close, sharing a warm but very cozy home by 2012 standards, with only one bathroom for six people.  


After high school, Carol attended Montana Tech and pursued an engineering degree. Male professors suggested that her seat might better be filled by a man, but she kept on. 


In a lab at Montana Tech, she met her future husband, John. Matt and I pilgrimaged a few years back and stood outside the lab door, the site of the meeting of two amazing minds and two generous hearts. John and Carol built a love and devotion to one another that is truly exemplary. 


John’s family welcomed Carol with open arms and of course fell in love with her too, as anyone with any sense did. Education and job opportunities took Carol and John from Montana, to Idaho, Missouri, Utah and eventually settling in Indiana. 


Along the way, Matt joined the family. Carol was thrilled to become a mother and supported everything her sensitive, talented, outrageously tall son took on. She's embued him with her sweetness, quiet tenacity, and commitment to showing up for those he loves and what is important. He works hard, as his parents showed him. 


Carol gave her heart and soul to her work in the steel industry and built many lasting friendships that continued after she retired. Carol never took her family or friends for granted. She was a fierce friend, the empathetic soul of her family, and a beautiful spirit to all who met her. 


Author Eric Hoffer wrote that "rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength." In the decade I've known her, I never once saw Carol imitate strength at someone else's expense. Instead, she taught everyone she touched about how to live with a generous, quiet strength. Everything she did, everything she stands for is about gently but firmly pushing forward, past when most of us would have dropped out, stopped trying, or at least had a moment when we looked up and questioned God or the universe for doling out an unfair share of challenges. 

They say so much of life is showing up. Carol showed up for her family, showed up for her education and her career and her colleagues. She showed up for her life. She showed up for each moment no matter how difficult. In the last year, even though it was hard and painful for her to get in and out of a car, Carol showed up for us even if it hurt. Backyard barbeques, birthdays, Thanksgiving, she fought for the traditions we all cherish. 


We have a longstanding and very special tradition of holiday tea at a different hotel or restaurant downtown Chicago each year—Carol, my mom and I started going in 2005 and would make our reservations in late summer to get our spot for December. My mom and I talked and we thought we'd just have a private little tea at Carol's condo last year so she and the guys didn't have to go to all the trouble of getting downtown and in and out of the car. But she very sweetly overruled us. She wanted to have the full experience, so we did. We went to the historic Palmer House hotel, had our tea in the balcony, and even chatted with beautiful ballet dancers in full Nutcracker costume. A few days before Carol passed, I learned that she had shared the experience with John and her dear friend Karen and emphasized the impression the male ballet dancer's tight tights had made on her! There's that wry sense of humor again. Needless to say, our tea tradition will continue in Carol's honor and I know she'll show up each year to join us in spirit.

Carol's Climbers Hustle Up the Hancock Once Again!

Carol's Climbers did it again! 2012 marked our third year participating in the Hustle Up the Hancock, an athletic event (stunt?) benefiting the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago. We did the Full Climb, which meant 94 floors, or 1,632 stairs.

We participated in the event in honor of my mother-in-law, Carol, who has battled a complex lung disease for about two decades. Matt had an important work trip that kept him from climbing this year, but Carol's niece (Matt's cousin) Carrie and her friend Angel came all the way from Montana to join me in the effort. Carrie did the half climb with us back in 2010.

Luckily, Matt was able to spend time with Carrie and Angel Friday night and part of Saturday. We had lunch at Joy Yee in Chinatown on Saturday afternoon after exploring the wonderful tea and trinket shops and bakeries in the neighborhood. We all enjoyed our food and our crazy drinks!


Then Sunday morning we got ready to climb! Approximately 4,000 climbers do it every year--and the full climb sells out in about an hour! Angel, Carrie and me waiting before the climb


We all did it and felt great when we got to the top. You can see I was ready to celebrate as I crossed the finish line (balloon arch)!


Carrie, me and Angel with our medals at the top


Mom and Dad were our cheer squad once again! I appreciate their support so much!!!


After we waited in the long elevator down and popped by the expo for our pictures and unofficial times, Mom and Dad drove us gals to Munster where we all had dinner with Carol and John. We had an awesome dinner of lasagna, garlic bread, salad and two scrumptious pies. Oh, and don't forget the homemade apple cider! All a wonderful celebration of our day, Carol, and Carrie's visit.