Tales of the Ordinary Days

  A few weeks ago my previously favorite blog subject (otherwise known as my middle son, Ben) called me for advice. The reason isn't significant now, but his approach to the conversation carried weight with me. "Mom, I need your advice on something. And before we even go there, what I am going to tell you is completely my fault. I get all the life lessons around it. What I want is just advice. So can we just put that all aside and stick to advice on my situation?" I respected Ben's ask and we had a productive conversation. He sought out advice from others and ultimately came to a good conclusion. Owning his shit and life lessons acknowledged early on,  I am pretty confident Ben won't be in the same situation again. I have always felt that a top responsibility in parenting is to teach our kids to think critically on their own. A specific skill that falls squarely in this category and high on my list is the ability to own your shit. To accept blame when due. To know

"Are we back to normal again?" I heard my father-in-law, Larry (aka Old Guy), asking Garrett this as I laid in bed.  Garrett was performing his morning ritual of coffee bean grinding before brewing our morning specialty coffee. This was after he had read and stretched, all while I was still thinking about waking up. Through the crack in the door, I could see Larry sitting, feet up, in his favorite sofa spot. Jake, my step-son, was noisily filling his large water jug for a day in the sun at his summer job. This clanging of ice at 7 am along with the permeating coffee aroma and Larry's shuffling have been my morning wake-up routine of recent times. With my delivered cup of hot java, I hear the sounds of the morning; the garage door opening with Garrett taking Jake to work and the percolating of Larry's own coffee of choice, Folgers, in his Mister Coffee machine. His own pot to drink through the morning while enjoying his latest book. Yes, Larry, I think we are

It will be easy, they said. Only 6 miles, he said. Rated Class 2 (easy with snow), the book proclaimed. Easy peasy. So what if it's a 14er (one of the 96 mountains in the United States and 58 in Colorado peaking at above 14,000 feet)? I've done four before. What's the big deal? What the book, Garrett, and I didn't take into account... 52 year old hot flashes (raising heart rate to 160 while climbing from 12,000 to 13,000 feet and a thunderstorm slyly rolling in at 13,500 feet and none of the four of us (Jake and Zeke were in tow too) packing rain gear for unanticipated rain for our 4th of July hike. That pretty much sums it up. But let me regress. 4th of July. A beautiful Saturday. A perfect day for a hike. But not just an ordinary hike. We decided to take on an 'easy' fourteener. With a 6 am wake-up call and a gorgeous drive through Silverton and then 4 wheeling to remote parts of the mountains, we reached our desired trailhea

Nieces, Ky and Brynn, and sons, Zach, Ben and Grant. They joined me for a Rotary meeting during my presidency. (in my defense...they were told to be silly for this photo) I was flying high in the early 2000's. Between the years 2006 and 2007, I was selected as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Omahan's, named a 40 under 40 up-and-comer, and elected the first female president of West Omaha Rotary on it's historic 50th year. I had sat on more than a dozen charity boards, turning away more invitations than I accepted. A partner with a large CPA firm; I had status, significance, and yes....a bit of an ego. Don't get me wrong, I loved serving and being a community leader. But I was also on my high horse with all these accolades. Looking  back, I now have flashbacks to my childhood; me basking in golden child status with exclamations of "look at me, look at me!!" During the heart of my PR roll, I received a phone call from Sister Mary Ann (I actually don

Enjoying the scenery, sun, fresh air I just finished a gorgeous bike ride. Twenty miles of Colorado beauty right outside my front door. A new normal is beginning. People are venturing out again. Cars and trucks traveling the county road towing paddleboards, kayaks, and rafts; enjoying Memorial weekend. People feeling the outdoors itch was evidenced by the number of bicyclists climbing the winding stretch of County Road 240 east of Durango up to Lemon Dam. Garrett was intermingled with this chain gang, maintaining his own pace but looping back occasionally to check on me. "Good job!" "How are you doing?" "Almost to the top. You got this!" His words of encouragement as he breezed by me. With my love language - Words of Affirmation and Garrett's - Quality Time, this Sunday morning bike ride definitely resulted in a win-win. I have likened this isolation time as feeling like Garrett and I are on a weekend couples retreat that just doesn'

Who needs to eat out? I'm not sure how many days have gone by with our daily lives changing. I have seen many people noting their number (i.e. Day 24 of Isolation). For us it has seemed more like a slow burn. Garrett and I were already well acclimated to working from home, so no big change there. Larry was always a bit of a home body. Zeke is still getting the same amount of walks and runs. He just doesn't understand why people aren't as friendly in their attention to him. Every day there has been a new restriction or business closing. Stay-at-home orders now seem like a common term in our vocabulary. The things that have changed have seemed subtle as one by one, businesses have closed and the rules of our daily life have become more stringent. It's amazing how one can be shocked with a favorite store closing then days later be equally surprised to find one still open. A new normal. The biggest loss for Garrett and me was losing our date nights and our gym.

A new Durango Chamber Diplomat (Dip) and trusted with the giant scissors! I love to go new. There is something exhilarating about going for the freshly wrapped gift in a white elephant gift exchange. Not knowing what lies under the colorful wrapping has always caught my wonder and attention. I now find myself going new on most days. With a life with less restrictions (no boys' calendars to coordinate nor 8-to-5-type work days), I find myself in my new city of Durango, Colorado filled with people whom I have never met and in places I have never been. The days of raising three sons are in my past. But I still have three 'boys' in my life today. Garrett, Larry and Zeke (husband, father-in-law and dog) are my current partners-in-crime. Every day brings something new. Some things are mundane and necessary, like weaving our way through the healthcare system and the ever-important need for a new dog groomer. More times than most we find little treasures as we work through

View from the front porch of our new house There hasn't been a dull moment in our recent nomadic lifestyle. But we now have news on this subject. And our news is that we don't plan on moving again. We plan on staying in Durango. No more nomad existence for us. We bought a house! Last year was all about 'out with the old' and this year is officially our 'in with the new'. After two large house sales and moves last year (Nebraska + Indiana) plus two moves from Boise rentals, we have gotten a little tired of packing and moving. After my last move post-exhaustion, I clearly articulated my feelings to Garrett. "One of two things is going to happen in Durango. I am either going to settle in for good or I am not going to get too comfortable. I am not doing another big move." Settling in has won out. It started with us 'just taking a look at some houses' to get a feel of the local market. One house viewing led to another and then we met

We got our new cards and no mug shots this time! Durango life is beginning to feel very normal. Our new normal. I just did the math (of course) on our number of days here. With my time away in Indiana to move Larry, Garrett's travel for work, and Larry coming in late to the game, here are our individual stats on days lived in Durango: Garrett - 31 days Sandy - 30 days Larry - 25 days In that short span of time, we have accomplished a lot. And more importantly, we have no reservations on our new city. We are loving it here. With my loft office above the family room and kitchen, I often play favorite vinyls from our combined collection of Larry's and my records. This afternoon I had yet to put on Artie Shaw or Johnny Cash. Instead he and I chatted about the day and what was to come for the rest of the weekend.  Old Guy (nickname given before my time BTW) had just sat down in his favorite chair with his favorite blanket (knit by his mom, Mabel) which has trav