February 8, 2016: Day 63

Even God likes orange and Broncos :)

(Text from Garrett, 7:48 a.m.)

Day 63. A delightful and enlightening day.

I couldn't sum it up any better.

It is now 9:29 p.m. I started the day with Garrett leaving in the wee hours to catch an early flight back to Denver. By the time I was in route to start my day with breakfast with a dear friend, the picture above, with accompanying text, arrived from my husband. He had just completed his flight to Denver and was greeted with this morning glory.

Yes, Garrett Brucker, even God loves orange and the Broncos. And no one can convince me that Peyton Manning doesn't rank high in the Big Man's books. A class act indeed.

Post-Super Bowl, I envy Garrett being in Denver without me. How incredible would it be to be a part of the city's celebrations, greeting the championship team back home to the mile high city?

Omaha did prove to be a worthy second though. My calendar was close to overbooked and it did not disappoint.

Breakfast started at Louie M's on 17th and Vinton. Eggs, sausage, and glorious coffee. I felt like I was back with my father-in-law in Monterey, Indiana. A 'down home' cafe with all of the bells, whistles, and charm of small-town America.

I spent the morning learning about the good works of The Bethlehem House. A home for pregnant women in crisis, this former-convent serves as a home to those most needy in our society. It's a place where each woman is shown how to love herself and develop her own unique talents. The great people who run this center empower the women to be on a path to make a positive contribution to the world for her and her child.

The impact the House makes was powerful to me. I look forward to writing and sharing more on their great mission as my part in serving them unfolds.

With the blink of an eye, I went from touring rooms filled with diapers and hygiene supplies to racing to meet a lunch appointment across town. Time flies when you connect with awesome people.

Lunch was a wonderful tomato and vegetable soup at Charleston's restaurant. Perfect for a blustery, cold Nebraska day. My company was a former business-partner and good-guy extraordinaire. Our almost two hour lunch flew by. I find this to be a common occurrence when sharing life. And as it happens with these 'listening' meetings, a piece of our conversation has stuck with me all day. It was a conversation forgiveness. Spiritual forgiveness is a powerful thing and his words hit open ears.

Following lunch, I made a quick trip to Skutt, my son's high school. This is always a pick-me-up for me as I'm almost always assured to run into a friendly, familiar face. And it did not disappoint today.

On to my gym time. I raced to the Lifetime treadmills in my effort to keep pace with the goal of 2016 miles in 2016. I am working this challenge with friend and former sister-in-law, Robbie Lane (it's complicated, but not...just go with it). Fast forward an hour and 5ish miles and I was back at the house, post-school dismissal, catching up with Grant and two buddies at the kitchen table.

I love being present. One of greatest gifts of my 90 days is being available for my kids. Although their problems grow fewer with age and only one is physically in the house, the gravity of their decision-making is greater at this stage in their lives and their need to have parents who are present, even more important. Grant has the luxury (his personal opinion may differ slightly) of having a mom currently at home and a dad recently retired. From tag-along youngest brother, lost in the shuffle, to the center of his parents combined attention....

The result? Grant keeps asking me to get a dog.

But I keep assuring him that there will come a day that he will appreciate my sudden hands-on parenting. What soon-to-be sixteen year old wouldn't want their mom chatting with their friends at the kitchen table while they consumed large quantities of leftover wings from the Super Bowl?? And I do ask good questions.

Our day progressed to Grant moving from the kitchen table to 'hanging' at a friend's house and then going to LifeTime on his own. I finished my day with two more meetings with former co-workers.

The Listening Tour continued to shine with great takeaways on everything from legal advice to discussions on faith vs. religion. My last meeting was filled with talks on how we can best empower women to succeed (as defined by them). The future of healthcare was a continuing healthy debate as was bucket list goals in life.

And now I sit, closing out my day to the sharp staccato sound of my fingertips pounding on my keyboard. Much learned and much follow up.

I will say it again. Life is good. But for now, time for bed.