~from the Group 4 bench~

Hello to you dear friends and family from somewhere along the line at Denver's Stapleton International Airport.  My plane landed here about an hour ago and I knew I'd have a 3 hour layover to contend with here and now given the layout of where I needed to be for the next leg of this journey, sure am glad that I had plenty of time to spare.  The flight from Montrose, very quick in nature, arrived at gate 7,001 (ok, ok it was 72) and my flight out to Seattle this evening is going to depart from gate 00 (ok, ok it really is gate 25).  Needless to say, I was wishing that I was 27 years old instead of the nearly 58-year old that I now am.  But I kept at it and slowly but surely, I found where I needed to be.  Now all I can do is wait and hope that the next two hours literally fly by.

It's been 4 months since I flew anywhere and the memories of my unfortunate escalator mishap back in the airport in Detroit are still pretty fresh in my mind.  It was on that second leg of my "bucket list" trip to New York City over spring break in March that I had a little 'close encounter of the WORST kind" as my daughter Ursela and I were rushing towards our flight to Binghamton.  The best way to describe it, ugly as it will end up sounding, I started at the top of the escalator and lost my balance when my suitcase wheels got caught up in the steps.  I found my way to the bottom the "hard" way as I dove and fell literally head first to the bottom.  A couple of very broken ribs later and I was on my way back  home without even getting to see the sights of NYC.  I have seen plenty of escalators and moving steps today but you know what?  I'm gonna take the "old-fashioned" way this time around.  I want to give both of my sons and new daughter-in-law BIG hugs when I see them tonight and it'll feel a whole lot better if my entire rib cage is intact this time.  

It actually seems kind of weird to be on the opposite side of the Continental Divide this afternoon.  As we flew over the mountains on the way here from Montrose, I tried to look as much as I could to see what it was like from way up there~28,000 feet in the air.  The beauty of the earth is so very vivid as a person sees it with a "bird's eye view" from the skies.  The Creator made this world pretty dang spectacular and whether it has been the golden plains of my home state of Kansas or the majesty of the Rocky Mountains here in my new home of Colorado, our earth is a wonderfully made place.  

Well, it's getting nearly nigh onto time to start repacking this computer up and making my way towards Gate 25.  The next 4 days will be so busy for me and I hope to enjoy every moment of it.  I can only imagine how fast the time will go and before I know it, the time will come to leave and return home to Montrose.  It will be a long time before I can see my son Ricky again and sometimes knowing that makes me a little sad.  But how happy I am that he and Angie are going to make a life together and are following the dreams that both of them share.  We have our children in the hopes of raising them up to be responsible adults who sooner or later, make their own choices in life.  I remember with a thankful heart how blessed I am that all 3 of my children are now healthy adults.  For all of the parents whose children may not have been able to live to the adult years of their lives, I send my own son off to this new place in time, far away from home,  in the knowledge that everything will be ok.  Not sure a person could ask for more.  

Have a great evening everyone out there and be safe and well whatever it is that you do this day.  I'm fine and in just a few hours, will be with my children in a place very far from here.  Good night all of you, my dear friends and family.  Signing off from Denver, Colorado with 5 of my favourite photos from the year 2013~

My very first snowman....named her "Eleanore", constructed in February of 2013.

Spirit Week at Lincoln Elementary, March of 2013.  We were the "brown" team :)  What great friends these ladies all were to me.

 Mike got the chance to "reconnect" with friends back in Hutchinson, KS on the day we were married.  Friends from the days of his childhood, the Spencers.

Having one last breakfast together with our two youngest kids, Grahame and Ursela before we left Kansas and returned to Colorado in May.

The San Juan Mountains and a view from a very different window in life now for me.  I will miss the sight and this certain guy I know that waits there for me to return home on Sunday.