Tales of the Ordinary Days

"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 ...

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...

Durango mug shots We are a week into our Durango adventure. Larry and I arrived last Tuesday night. On a scale from 1 to 10, we ranked our road trip an 8 for our 1,200 miles cross country together. Keep in mind, this is blended rating for our trip. By 5 pm last Tuesday, when we arrived at our storage unit in Durango after four days of driving, we were done. We were at a low score of a five. I was driving too fast. Larry was driving too slow. Four days on the road and we were delirious. And then Garrett interjected into our scene. Cool. Calm. The peacemaker. The three of us worked together to unload Larry's truck into the storage unit before dark with his U-Haul trailer returned shortly thereafter. With a visit to a local craft brewery and a warm dinner later, we were all good. Our new trio + Zeke was revived and ready to embark on our new adventure. Yes, all is good in the world. It is amazing what a good night's sleep and unpacking can do for a person. Fast fo...

Prosecco and Scotch kind of night. We are in Colorado!! Three Hampton Inn stays, four states covered, two time zone changes, seven McDonald's stops, one ice storm endured, and 1,085 miles logged. No, Dorothy, it certainly isn't Kansas anymore. After 400 miles across Kansas and a Mountain Time switch, we crossed the Colorado border early this afternoon. With sunny skies and dry roads, it was a drastic change from our crawl into Junction City, KS last night. With me following Larry in his pick-up + U-Haul, our speed was at a steady 40 MPH last night as we navigated over icy bridges on the Kansas Interstate stretch. My last count was seven cars and one semi that had slid off the road. The temp dropped to a perfect ice storm of 28 degrees. Not cold enough to turn to snow, but not warm enough to avoid icing over. Although mentally spent, we made it to our hotel destination safely. With a quick dinner and the viewing of a Packers impressive game start, Larry was down for...

Old Guy and me We did it. Somehow, someway...with a lot of help from a lot of wonderful people, we got my father-in-law moved out of his long-time home in Monterey, Indiana. I flew in last Monday to assist with the move. Larry and I 'flew out' today, via our packed vehicles and a stuffed U-Haul trailer. Oh what a week. Let me start by saying that I have never met Larry's mom, Mabel, nor have I met the prior owner of his house, Agnes. But I now feel like we are intimately acquainted and I am grateful for the experience. I have also relived the years of Larry's ex's and Garrett's ex through the house cleansing process. Photos, cards, memorabilia from trips...you name it, I've been through it. As Larry and I reflected over wine and steak tonight, so much of our journey is lived in a home. A journey full of people who have walked by our side. The home being the ultimate holder of these memories. Now I need to digress a bit on Mabel and Agnes and the m...