My love of assorted foolhardy individuals

So, my dad wasn't entirely foolhardy, but he had a foolhardy streak (e.g., "Maggie, let's drop your young brothers off on shore as you and I take the canoe down the rapids," "I thought you liked being flipped out of your wagon"). I believe that any similar traits I have ("Sure, we can bike through that river") likely are attributable to him.

When I emailed my BikeMS donors before my week-long bike ride in July, he responded. He always responded to each of my emails, either with something funny or sentimental.

Because I live 5 hours from where he lived, this will be the most noticeable day-to-day difference in my life moving forward - not getting frequent and random emails and texts, not having him throw me on speaker phone as he sits in his chair - telling me to not work too hard, to not get hit on my bike, and filling me in on what my siblings are up to.

He mentioned my love of Iceland because we went there, together. I was extremely lucky to be able to travel with my husband and my parents to Peru in 2006; Egypt in 2009; Iceland, Amsterdam, and Belgium in 2016, and the North Shore of Minnesota in 2017. The four of us shared a cabin at our family reunion in Kentucky in 2018, and joined my cousin and her husband for a bourbon distillery tour in Kentucky this past May.

Peru

Egypt, obviously
The Temple of Horus at Edfu, I think

Egypt enthusiasm

You can't see our faces, but who cares?

Alexandria, Egypt

Waterfall in Iceland

Iceland hot springs

Our first beer in Amsterdam -
the perfect choice

Belgian waffles in Bruges/Brugge

My co-conspirator

Ghent, Belgium

The North Shore

I have many memories (and some photos, too) of my dad from before I was an adult, too - - ranging from him falling asleep in my bunk bed while rubbing my back, teaching me how to ride a bike, serving as my cross-country coach and my detention proctor, sharing his true opinions about some of my hairstyles, and driving me to Minnesota when I transferred there for college and stopping so that I could use payphones along the way to try to find a hotel for us to stay at while he bought me Benadryl for my stress-induced hives.

I will need to dig for the photo of the biking and camping trip the two of us went on together about 15 years ago - the only time we did that. He packed a bag of M&Ms as our trail mix and, in true Mahoney fashion, challenged me to a bike race. I won.

A common theme at his memorial service was his love of nature and how he passed that along to us. As I've gotten overwhelmed these past 10 days and find myself taking deep yoga breaths, I have been seeking out nature to comfort me. I am grateful that he taught us that skill.

My parents' yard; sun brings hope

My parents' yard; fog brings peace

My family went for a hike at
the state park we used to always go to
with my dad; the dude in this
photo hates having his picture taken.
I couldn't bear to crop the photo, though.

My bike ride, just after returning to MN
after spending a mourningful week in WI.
The Mississippi River, just after the
confluence with the Minnesota River.

My dad's favorite photo of himself.

I think I like this one better. I took it in Jan 2019.
My dad planted each of those trees and we
would walk the paths between them each
time I visited. He helped me dig through the
snow to find my dog's missing boot.

From a couple of Christmases ago. My parents
gave me the neck buff that I was wearing
as a hat while mysteriously still in
my snowpants late at night.

And when I am feeling like junk, yet have to work and can't step outside, I think I will just put on his flannel shirt, like I did today.