Tales of the Ordinary Days

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...

Tonight we had tickets to The Fray. The outdoor concert was to be at Red Rocks Amphitheater. This much-anticipated event would have been Jake's first concert and Zach's first Red Rocks experience. Garrett's friend, Gustavo, was in town from DC and was to join us as well. But it wasn't meant to be. Gustavo evacuated early and the kids are instead watching Harry Potter in the basement. Our visions of a beautiful June night in the Rockies were rained on. In fact, they were poured on. The term "rain, rain, go away" couldn't be more prevalent in my life right now. I think the black clouds are following me. We were rained out from Red Rocks tonight. Working backwards, we were rained in to Chicago last Monday with storms closing the Omaha airport. And Mexico was more rain and clouds than the anticipated vacation sunshine. But such is life. And life is still sunny, regardless of the rain. Zach has comfortably moved into his new Colorado home. He and h...

Breakfast surprise An eventual rainy day at the lake began with breakfast made and served by the kids. As the adults enjoyed coffee lakeside under cloudy skies, the kids asked "what's for breakfast?" My response was "I cooked dinner last night. The kids are in charge of breakfast." They didn't miss a beat. Within a half an hour, the first course was served. Fruit, yogurt, and coffee in an orange juice glass. We putzed on our computers enjoying our first round when the second course was served; bacon and eggs with salsa. A welcomed morning treat. And they even cleaned up after themselves. Warm refreshments and chess at Arnold's Perk Then it started to rain. Just a sprinkle, but progressive throughout the day. No week at the lake is complete without a rainy day. So we did the rainy day lake activities: visit to the fish hatchery, coffee and pastries with checkers, shopping at the Emporium. We were hoping for go-karts and dinner outside at B...

My work view today Is there anything as peaceful as driving across town in the dark of an early morning? This ranks pretty high on my list. At 6:00 a.m. there is a flicker of life beginning to light up, but all is relatively tranquil. Garrett's traditional Monday morning flight home has me at the airport before six. With a ceramic cup of coffee in hand, my first choice on this early morning adventure is which way to take home. The quick way is the Interstate. The preferred drive is straight through town. Dodge Street is my favored route. This morning thoughts of hurrying home and catching some more sleep lingered momentarily, but instead I hung a left onto Abbott Drive out of the airport. It was the Dodge way home today. 6:02 a.m. 6:07: Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby One More Time" blared on the radio as I weaved through the quiet Creighton campus. A security guard was the only human I spotted as the rain lightly fell on my windshield. I didn't switch son...