Upon the time that comes when it's perfectly ok to admit you were wrong~

     One of the things that I've said over and over, especially to my students in our fourth grade classroom at Olathe Elementary is that teachers simply don't know everything.  Hey kids, believe it or not!  It's kinda a shocker to them all, especially to those who look upon their daily mentors as someone who sits high upon the classroom pedestal, but it's so very true.  Teachers don't know everything and THIS teacher has found out in short order all of the things that there are to know in teaching fourth graders all day long.
     This might be my 36th year of being an educator, but as far as I'm concerned it's really like year number one all over again.  I've taught fourth graders, off and on, throughout my teaching experience.  Yet this is the first time I've ever found myself in the same room with them, behind closed doors, for the entire school day.  I'm responsible for the guiding of them along life's way and the big journey up the hallway a little bit to the fifth grade classroom by the beginning of the next school year.  The task is daunting at times and a little overwhelming about ALL of the time.  I go home at the end of the day and wonder, "Geesch, did they learn what they needed to this day?  Did they understand what I tried to teach them?"  What I am saying makes sense to every teacher I would suppose and I know this much will strike a chord with educators everywhere~From 8:05 until 3:10 each and every day, WE ARE BUSY!  There is a never a down time, rarely is there more than 60 seconds between the transition of one subject to the next.  Time is of the essence always and the gravity of how important it is to pack as much as we are able to into each school day always looms overhead.  Sometimes the odds against getting it all done seem about as astronomical as they come.  Yet we continue to try and try and try.  When all is said and done, there is still nothing else I would have wished to do with my life for I know that being a teacher is as about as honourable a profession as it gets.  I thank God for the blessing.
     This is one year that I've learned right alongside the kids and it is humbling to admit it but I say it without hesitation.  I don't know everything there is to know about teaching them.  Right now our science unit is on the solar system and holy cow, has that ever been an eye opener.  I would have to acknowledge the fact that as a 58-year old woman I've kinda stopped wondering about the universe on a daily basis.  I love the constellations in the sky on a dark Colorado night, always glad that sun shines out there upon the Earth from 93,000,000 miles away, and just thankful that the good Lord made this planet for me and a couple gazillion other people to live on.  But yesterday while we learned about the inner/outer planets I had to stop and think.  What the heck were they talking about "inner" and "outer" planets?  Dr. Lester Schrag, our great science teacher from when I was a 7th-8th grader back at Haven Grade School had never told us about that.  Or had he?  The other day as we were speaking about the solar system in class, one of my students said, "Mrs. Renfro, what about that asteroid belt thing?"  I was speechless yet after a moment I said, "Well that sounds like a great thing to read about together!"  And so we did and the transplanted flatlander that I am now went through a refresher course and relearned right alongside some very excited 10-year olds about life in this great big universe of ours.
     Oh yeah, and one more thing before I go.  I'm having a heck of an issue with talking to the kids about the fact that poor Pluto, long thought of as the 9th planet of the solar system is really not one of the "big guys".  In 2006 scientists determined that really in all actuality for the 76 years prior we had been wrong all along about there being a grand total of 9 planets out there rotating around the Sun.  I remember  how I felt when I heard the news (totally aggravated at the scientists' ruling) and gotta tell you I still feel aggravated about it today.  For heaven's sakes, a Kansas farm boy named Clyde Tombaugh discovered its being in 1930 and in my opinion they should have let the proverbial "well enough alone".  But they did not.  Our classroom science text, published before 2006, still lists dear Pluto as one of the "guys" out there.  And hey, when you stop to think of it how on earth (:) are you going to remember the order of the planets if you leave out the poor ninth guy?  Somehow, M (My) V (Very) E (Educated) M (Mother) J (Just) S (Sent) U (Us)  N (Nine) is not near as catchy or memorable without P (Pizzas).  I rest my case and in my heart, mind, soul and spirit, dear Pluto will always be out there as the ninth planet, in its dwarf state or not.  Done with my sermon now, AMEN.
     It's getting nigh onto time to head out now.  For the record, I brushed up on this day's lesson in science last night.  My goal in life is to always stay at least a step or two ahead of the kids and for those days when I cannot, then I will gladly and humbly admit that this is their day to see their teacher learn with them.  Mistakes, especially those we learn from, are the best kind of education that most of us can get.  Sure seems like that kind of knowledge sticks with us a whole lot longer!  Have a great day everyone out there.  Thinking of you all~

The wonderful kids of the 8th grade class at Haven Grade School, 1968-1969.  Don't even bother looking for me on the front row because this was the one and only year that I snuck up on the back row and didn't get called down to the front with all of the other short people :)  I'm on the left hand side right next to "Old Glory".  Wish I would have paid a little more attention to Dr. Schrag when he taught us science back then.  But one thing I am is a heck of a fast learner when the need arises.

Although it seems like it at times, learning about life and all that goes with it is not quite as insurmountable as it might appear.  I'm planning to be a life-long learner.  How about you guys?

For the bookworm in all of us~

Hello everyone out there in the early morning hours from here in a place that as the "crow flies" is only a stone's throw away from the state of Utah.  Hey, I'm going to jump right to a question for you all.  When was the last time you picked up a good book to read?  It doesn't really matter from which genre it is found and ok, ok it's probably the teacher in me but are you reading?  I hope so.

Yesterday when I got home from school I found a package delivered by the postal service with a return address that made me smile, BIG time.  Up in the left hand corner, neatly written it read "Hutchinson, Kansas" and I knew exactly what it might be.  Inside was a birthday gift from two of my children, Grahame and Ursela.  As I shook it and began to unwrap it, I knew what they had sent me.  Nestled underneath sheets of the Hutch News was the greatest gift that teacher's kids could send to their mama~two new books to read this winter time.  

When I was back home in Kansas during my class reunion now nearly two weeks back, I mentioned to Grahame that my good friend Kathy Hanks had suggested a book for me to read.  Called "Nothing Daunted", it tells the story of two women who, bored with their life in upstate New York, decide to head to the West and become school teachers in northwestern Colorado.  The adventures they encountered there, beginning in the summer of 1916, sound kinda familiar to me as a school teacher from Kansas.  Kathy knew that I could probably identify with their lives and told me I should read it.  I only mentioned it in passing to Grahame but unbeknownst to me, he went out immediately and found it with the intention of mailing it to me for my birthday on the 26th.  That boy!

But they didn't stop with just one book and actually the second choice brought an even bigger smile to my face.  My favourite musical group, hands down of all times, is Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.  For you little kids reading this who will not even know of whom I speak, well you need to just find someone slightly older than you, most any really grown up person will do, and ask them about CSNY.  The copy of Graham Nash's "Wild Tales" tells his story of life as a rock singer and all that he went through to get from "there" to "here".  After reading the first chapter last night, it's a wonder that he or anyone from that era was able to survive all of the things that they subjected themselves to.  It kinda put life in perspective when I read the fact that he was born in 1942 and as I quickly did the math in my head, I realized that he turned 71 this year.  Wow, that was kind of a shock to me and surely the mid-20 something young guy with long hair and a beard is the very same man with white hair and wrinkles to the face shown on the back cover.  In my mind, they are still frozen on in time, singing my favourite song of theirs, "Suite:  Judy Blue Eyes" on the stage at Woodstock in 1969.  If I can keep my eyes open long enough tonight, I intend to see what is in store for the second chapter.  I love to read.

Before I close, I'm going to climb up on my teacher's soapbox and put in a plug for family reading. Some evening soon, preferably tonight, give this a try. Please dear friends, turn off the TV and walk away from the computer. Tuck your cell phone away and refuse to check it for a moment or two. Find a place, a quiet one, where you can sit down and crack open a good book.  Encourage your children, even the big ones, to sit down and join you with theirs.  Shoot, it wouldn't even hurt to make it a nightly ritual.  Imagine the possibilities that would arise from a scheduled 20-minute "we're going to be reading tonight" routine.  Oh yeah, and by the way another idea here.  We all read to our kids when they are little, but how many of you continue reading to them as they grow older?  It might seem strange to some as you say to your 11-year old, "Hey, I'd like to read this story to you." but I really believe that no matter how old they seem to have become, they still need to hear YOU read from time to time.  Just my thought on that one, for whatever it might be worth.  

Well the clock on the kitchen wall says I have very little time before I need to pack up my things and head to Olathe, just a few miles up the road from here in Montrose.  When I get there, 18 fourth graders will be waiting for me.  We spend most of the afternoon in reading and I'm really glad to say that they love it.  As a teacher, I gotta tell you that it's a whole lot easier to teach a child to read when they have the "taste" for it already.  Reading is a lifelong skill and passion.  I hope you feel the same.  

Have a great day everyone out there and take care of yourselves and of one another.  When all else is gone, what we have left is each other.  This is the 29th day of October, 2013 and I'm gonna call it a great day to be a "reader" in and when we lay our heads on the pillow in rest tonight, it will have been an even greater day to be alive in.

One of my favourite pictures of us all together way back in 2004.  Wow, seems hard to believe that 9 years have passed us by.  Grahame (named for Graham Nash), Ursela and Ricky.  I taught Grahame and Ursela when they were in first and second grade.  They all towered over me then and hey, I haven't grown much taller since then :)

upon realizing the reason for life~

     From the "other side", a good Sunday morning to everyone out there.  The world outside is still dark and for good reason~the sanest of people are still asleep in their warm beds now and the ones that wake up at 4 a.m. are, well they're awake.  Mike is not one of those who prefer to arise before the appointed hour of 5:30 a.m. and after five months of our being married, has begun to accept the fact that I don't stay asleep for all that long.  I've always been this way and for whatever reason, I have had a difficult time in turning off that "internal" alarm clock of mine.  Shoot, who really needs sleep anyway?
     Yesterday was a great day for me and as I type these words with my now 58-year old fingers, I realize that for the first time since I've been here that I had a great day from start to finish.  This morning as I'm sitting here thinking about it all, I wonder what it was that made the day like that.  Was it because yesterday was my birthday?  Maybe, I guess.  Could it have been the well wishes of so many good folks?  Well, that surely contributed to it.  Or hey here's a possibility~could it have been because I finally allowed myself to embrace my life on the Western Slopes?  Who knows?  
     I was so afraid that I wouldn't make it through the day without being sad or missing Kansas and family/friends back home.  It was one of those "firsts" you know?  Yet when I woke up yesterday morning, it was with a sense of peace and tranquility.  Surely this was a gift as well for me and I know Who the giver was.  That sense of goodness and of things being "ok" for me lasted throughout the entire day.  How nice it was to not feel anxious or worried about the least of things.  I give thanks to God for that always.
     Even though I know how ridiculous it is to second-guess any reason for my life here now, I still wonder.  When I stand before my children in the fourth grade classroom at Olathe Elementary, I look out at their faces and give thanks to be their teacher.  They are a special group of kids and I believe they really need me.  Shoot, the fact of the matter is that I need them too!  It was so sweet during parent-teacher conferences this week to hear several of them tell the same story to their parents.  It was one I have told them many times already during the course of our first 9-weeks of school.  I told those 9 and 10-year olds of how I had searched all summer long with sadness and longing  for them but was afraid that I wouldn't find them.  When I nearly gave up, almost "threw in the towel" on ever teaching anyone again, there they were.  As their teacher I cherish them, protect them, keep my proverbial "thumb" on them, and try my best to guide them along the way this year.  Were they part of the reason I came here?  I believe they were.
     Have you ever stopped to wonder about why things happen in life as they do?  Ever given any consideration to why you are at a certain job, live in a particular spot of the world, have been given the blessings of this life or sadly, have had many "crosses" to bear?  Perhaps we all go through that from time to time and my best guesstimate is that many of us will wake up this morning and wonder.  I've done it all of my life and when I finally accepted the fact that my life was really a part of "the plan" set forth for me long before the date of October 26, 1955 ever showed on the calendar, it started to make the trials and tribulations of this life so much easier to bear.  My friends and family, dear ones to me all, I pray for you that this day ahead of us is full of peace for you.  In my heart, I carry each of you every day.  If you felt someone holding on to you and couldn't figure out who it was, well it was me.  
     I'm kind of laughing to myself right now.  In the course of the time that I've been typing this blog post, I have woken Mike up twice already.  In the quiet of the kitchen, the stillness of the early morning hours, I've kept hearing this rustling coming from the area of the mud porch.  At first he said it was probably a raccoon outside helping himself to the potatoes that were no longer any good.  Well now THAT was a comforting thought.  Still it kept coming and so he came out to check on things.  Didn't see anything but sounds like it might be time to set a "trap" for an unwanted guest.  Life here, never a dull moment.
     The sun will arise in an hour or so and now is a good time to get busy around here.  I'm getting some things packed up to send to my son Ricky and daughter-in-law Angie to tuck away for the March 1st birthday of their little baby.  I look forward in anticipation for the arrival of my first grandchild.  Although I won't be there to hold that little person when it is born, I'll be there sometime in the first weeks of his/her life.  I give thanks to God for that blessing.  Friends, yet one more thing before I go.  I have a good friend back in Kansas who has a granddaughter going through some pretty serious health issues right now.  She's heading back to the hospital today so that the doctors can determine the best way to treat the particular illness she has.  If you would be so kind, please say a prayer for her that God would direct the doctors as they give her care.  Her name is Grace.  Thank you friends.
     Wow, I just realized something.  I woke up this morning~I was meant to live past my 58th birthday so that must mean that God has something in mind yet for me to do.  With that in mind, I'm going to get dressed, put my shoes on and go out to find it.  If you are reading this, then you were meant to be here as well.  What are you waiting for?  Have a great day all.

Ok, and just for the record....I'd much rather look like this, than this.......

And if for some reason I don't make it home from school one day, well.....you get the picture :)


     

So far, it's a piece of cake~

Hello dear friends and family and greetings from the Pacific side of the Continental Divide on this good October 26th evening.  It's been a great day to have a birthday, a fine day in life to turn 58 years old, and as I sit here tonight at home in Montrose, Colorado I feel blessed a thousand fold.  May your day have been as good as mine was.  You deserve it :)

I wasn't sure how I would feel on this, my first birthday away from home in Kansas.  I wondered if I would make it without crying, being homesick, or anything else.  But you know, I did pretty good and actually this has been the best day I've had here since I moved to Colorado, from start to finish!  I think that's a good sign, don't you? How wonderful it was to hear from so many friends this day and I give you thanks, all of you, for your kindness to me.  The miles didn't seem so many for some reason and what a gift this thing called "modern technology" is for us all.  I'm grateful for your friendship and love, concern and support.

So many good things happened today to make this particular birthday one to remember. I received many gifts of "the heart" and those my friends are the best kind to get. There's no aisle in Wal Mart or any of those high dollar, fancy shmansy stores that has gifts of the heart on its shelves.  They have always been my favorite kind.  One special one came to me all the way from Hutchinson, Kansas and the giver of the gift was a young man named Michael Wilde, a former student of mine from the days of Haven Grade School.   He sent me a message on Facebook, asking what my address in Hutch had been.  I thought it was rather unusual but I didn't think all that much further about it.  Just a few minutes later, I found out his reason for asking and it brought tears of joy to the face of this old school teacher.  Michael had taken the photo, shown below:

Just for my birthday, he had found my house in Hutchinson and stopped by there today to take a photo of it for me so I wouldn't be so homesick.  My heart smiled when I saw it and "home" seemed so close to me that I could almost reach out and touch it.  Michael, dear boy (ok, ok now a grown man) your old teacher will always remember you and love you for what you did this day for me.  God bless you always~Your heart is good and kind.

Night time has fallen in our part of the world, now over an hour ago.  The evening is a quiet one and believe it or not, Mike and I are sitting here watching "Finding Nemo" and eating popcorn. Yep, I know that sounds pretty exciting, doesn't it?  We live a pretty simple life and  I guess all in all, that's not such a bad thing.  When I lay my head on the pillow tonight, it will be in gratitude for a good life, now 58 years in all.  I miss you my friends and family but rest assured I am ok and slowly but surely adjusting to life in this place on the "other" side of the big hill :)

This morning as Mike and I were driving to breakfast, I heard the most beautiful song on the radio.  It was new to me (surprise, surprise because my entire repertoire of music knowledge comes from the '70s) and I quickly "Googled" some of the lyrics in order to find out who was singing it.  Through the magic of the technological world we now live in, I found out in short order.  It's a beautiful song by an English group called "Passenger" and I swear it almost has a Celtic sound to it.  I was particularly struck by one of the verses that said, "You only hate the road when you're missing home."  How true it is that we take for granted so many things. May we all be ever aware of the fragility of life and to live each day as if it were the last one we would ever have.  Love you guys, one and all.  Oh, and by the way~58?  It's a piece of cake, well so far :)

Actually 58 feels a whole lot like 57 did~I'm pretty sure it's all in your perspective friends, all in your perspective.  Sitting here tonight at home in south western Colorado, in fulfilment of this special part of the "plan".

Tried to attach the video to that beautiful song below.  Hopefully it will open for you.  Worth listening to, at least in my thoughts.

With yet one more trip around the sun~

Some time back in the early days in January of 1955, my folks must have decided that there was plenty of room in their hearts and our farm house as well to create a new being, child #6.  God blessed them and from the moment of conception, a tiny baby girl's life began.  Nine months later on October 26th the child arrived and they gave her the name "Peggy Ann Scott".  Tomorrow as I celebrate 58 years of life, I have them to thank for loving each other enough to bring me into this world of ours.  They are in Heaven now but I know they watch over me and are with me in spirit.  I'll see them again some day~

I got to be the "baby" of the family for two years.  Cindy was just the "twinkle in Daddy's eyes" at the time.  She arrived in 1957 and got to be the baby of the family forever :)

The road map that I have followed in this now, nearly 6 decades of life, has been a strange one.  The path I took was surely not the straight route and more than likely, I've taken some very unplanned detours.  There have been many "highs" for me but an equal share of "lows" as well.  I haven't understood fully everything that has happened to me but this much I will always swear to know~whatever has happened in the life of that little baby born to a Kansas farming family was always a "part of the plan".  I trust God and know that as it says in the "Good Book" Jeremiah 29:11-13, that He has plans for me and has been showing me those plans all of my life.  I haven't always agreed with Him and I gotta say there are some parts that I have shaken my head in disbelief at.  Yet, I always accept the fact that someone way smarter than I will ever profess to be is in charge of such things.  What more could I ask for?

Out of the seven kids born to my parents, John and Lois Scott, only five of us remain.  My older sister, Janice, was killed in a car accident at the age of 27 and I have now outlived her by more than twice her years.  My older brother, Mike, passed away from ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease in 2007.  Sometimes I have wondered why they were chosen to go first from our family and how it is that the rest remain behind today in 2013.  I only wonder sometimes because mostly I realize that for them, their part of the plan was fulfilled a little quicker than the rest of us.  For the years we were able to have them here, I give thanks.  

I looked back at the blog post I made just a year ago today, back when I was still "Peggy Miller" and living in south central Kansas instead of south western Colorado :)  I'm reprinting it below if you would so care to read.  Come tomorrow morning at 10:32 a.m. central standard time, if the good Lord is willing, I will celebrate my 21,184th day of living.  I say to you today, dear friends and family, that even with wrinkles, strands of graying hair and all the other "special opportunities" that come with growing older, life is very good.  I rejoice and give thanks in that.  May you also feel the same about your lives.  Have a great day everyone and sending you greetings from a place far, far away.  Friends and family back in Kansas, see you exactly one month and one day from now.  

Thursday, October 25, 2012

20,819 days later~

My mom always liked to tell the story of how when she was pregnant with me and had gone into labor in preparation for my delivery, that her doctor was nowhere to be found.  Seems that the good "Doc Schmidt" had decided to go out drinking and dancing with his wife at one of the local clubs in Newton, Kansas at about the same time that a little baby named Peggy decided it was time to find out what this "being born" stuff was all about.  His nurses tried for several hours to find him to let him know that Lois Scott needed him and she needed him RIGHT NOW! They were having no luck at all.

I was baby #6 for my mom and with that in mind, the nurse (a Catholic nun named Sister Marietta) told my mom not to worry.  "We don't need him anyway Lois.  You and I have gone through this together five times before!" At just about the time that I would be ready to deliver, they heard his footsteps coming down the hallway, whistling a tune as if he hadn't a care in the world.  I don't know what my mom or Sister Marietta said to him, but I'm gonna guess that knowing my mom, it probably wasn't said with a "happy face" on.  At 10:32 in the morning I arrived and when Dr. Schmidt held me upside down and gave me my first birthday spanking, I started out on this journey called "life".  My father gave me the name "Peggy Ann Scott" and upon my conception, my parents' blood became mine and now so many years later as I type this, I realize just how special that makes me.  

20, 819 days later here I am, on the eve before I reach my 57th year.  This has been a strange week, a tough one, a REALLY rough one and I'm not kidding.  Without going into detail, just suffice it to say that I am surely hoping to never have another one like it again.  I guess some weeks are like that, not sure why though.  How well I now understand in life why it's good that we never know what lies ahead of us~how most of us would never have the courage to get out of bed in the morning if we did know.  I am positive beyond the shadow of a doubt that I would be one of the "afraid".  

Earlier this week, I lost my voice and it wasn't the kind of losing your voice that happens when you have a bad cold or laryngitis.  Rather, it was the kind of "losing your voice" that happens when you simply don't know what to say.  At times it seemed to be a depressing kind of week for one reason or another.  Every day it has seemed as though something has gone wrong and try as I might to fix it, there are just some things that are out of my hands.  Usually when I feel like that, sitting down at the computer and pounding on the keys to write a blog post is a sure cure for it.  But not this time.  I tried to no avail as I sat there looking at a very blank screen.   For two days I just didn't know what to say.  For some reason, the words are finally starting to come forth.

I must admit that I do not understand life sometimes~do you ever feel the same?  You know, here you are going along life's way, truly minding your own business and doing the best you can under some trying circumstances.  Then all of a sudden, out of the blue, things change in a moment's time and what you thought was safe and secure ends up being not the way you hoped it would turn out to be.  And you know what friends?  That can end up being a little scary, even for the bravest of souls.

The journey of Peggy Miller hasn't even been close to what my dear and sainted grandmother, Bessie Scott, would have called the journey down the "straight and narrow".  My life's road is a series of turns, hills and roads filled with giant potholes.  I am an alumni of "the school of life" and I keep having to go back for refresher courses now and again.  Pretty sure they will always save a seat for me there LOL.  The events of this week have just further proven to me that I am not, nor have I ever been, in charge of the events of my life.  Someone much smarter and greater than I will ever profess to be is in charge of my life, in charge of "the plan".  As I enter the first day of my 57th year tomorrow, I pray to continue to be cognizant of that fact and by so doing, my life may be somewhat easier.

I have a big day tomorrow~taking off a personal day from school to remember the blessings of reaching yet another year of life. Lots of things to do.  I plan to make a special journey over to my mom and dad's graves~to leave something for my mom.  Every year for the past 20 years or so I'd always sent her flowers on my birthday, thanking her for not stopping with child #5.  She always understood what I was talking about and rather than fussing about my buying them for her, Mom just said we'd enjoy them together.  When she died in 2007, the tradition stopped.  Tomorrow on the first day of my 57th year, it begins again.  I always wondered how they did it~how they raised 7 children that were spread out over a span of 17 years.  The older I have gotten, the more the realization sinks in how blessed I was to be born into this world in the first place.  

Friends, if your mom or dad are still living, please call them~if only to say that you were thinking of them.  I'll see mine in Heaven someday....until then, I just remember that my life is all a "part of the plan".  Good night everyone! 

Two of the women who had the greatest of impacts on the life of one young girl.  My mom, Lois Scott and my maternal grandmother, Bessie Belle Scott.  Both of them gone now~always will remember and love them.  (at Haven on Labor Day of 1978)

And now for winter and who the heck would have ever guessed?

When autumn finally decides to say "good-bye" and pass the baton over to winter on the 21st day of December, I will have gone through each of the four seasons out here in Colorado.  It was in the dead of winter this past January that I first made the trip out here to south western Colorado to "reconnect" and meet this guy named Mike Renfro.  We had not encountered one another since the days we were both back in Kansas as students at Haven High School more than 40 years ago and if not for a chance meeting on Facebook (although I know there is no such thing as "chance") I would be writing a totally different blog post to you this afternoon.

Although there are well over 7 weeks of autumn still remaining on the calendar, I can sense that the seasons might switch partners a little earlier this time around.  And by their conversations, I can tell that other folks around here seem to be feeling the same way too.  As a lifelong hater of snow, cold weather and the very mention of winter itself, I don't look forward to its upcoming arrival.   Mike has sensed my worry over the imminent approach of my old "foe" and has reminded me many times that I already know what winter is like here in this part of Colorado and that I really have nothing to fear.  I trust he is right in his assumptions and that even though we may have a tough and cold season upcoming just a little later on down the line, I will be able to survive it without a lot of trouble.  Fingers and toes crossed, may what he says be so!  

I went back in this blog's archives and reread the post I made back in mid-January this past year about what my very first visit to this place he called "home"~Montrose, Colorado.  I had to smile when I read it because it really sounded like I was brave and daring.  In all actuality, I am not so brave and "daring" is not my middle name.  It was fun to read my words again and to realize on that day, I truly had no idea about what would happen to me in the months ahead.  For that matter, neither did Mike.  It was a part of the "plan" for us to find one another again and as they say, the rest is "history".  I'm reprinting that blog post from much earlier this year, if you would care so to read.  Funny how things happen, you know?  For whatever reason four decades later, we were meant to find one another again.  Have a great evening everyone and take care of yourselves and of each other.  I'm thinking of you all from way out here along the Pacific side of the Rocky Mountains.  I am alive and I am well.  For you, I pray the same :)

Sunday, January 20, 2013

the view from a different window~

Greetings everyone to you this evening, not from my home on 14th Street in Hutchinson, but rather from Montrose, Colorado along the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains.  Never in my wildest of dreams would I have imagined finding myself in Colorado during the coldest time of the year here, but nonetheless here I have been since late Friday evening.  At the kind invitation of a dear friend from the "land of long ago, and far, far away", Mike Renfro, I came to see what his part of the earth looked like.  And now as night time has quickly fallen and my car is mostly packed for the journey back home to Kansas in the morning, I am so very glad that I have come here.  I would have to admit, it's with a bit of sadness that I will have to leave because I have had a great time and of course, as the age old saying goes, "time flies when you are having fun".  But hey, what the heck?  I know the way  here now and I will be back.  

This was a gigantic "leap of faith" for me to take out from the certainty of life at home in Hutchinson, Kansas and travel to a place over 650 miles away from me.  I had never driven alone in Colorado and I knew that traversing the mountains would be a formidable undertaking.  But I figured, "OK Peggy Miller~you drove 4,000 miles to and from Maine not even 8 months ago.  You did it then, you can do it now!" and so off I went just as soon as I could finish up a few things after school on Friday.

The journey on Highway 50 out of Hutchinson and all the way to the far western Kansas town of Syracuse was pretty much a slice of that "proverbial piece of cake".  Mike had told me, shoot Mapquest had even "seconded" it that Montrose was a mere 650 miles, give or take a mile or two, west of Hutchinson on Highway 50.  So all I would need to do is just "follow the yellow brick road" and by the way, if any of the heirs of L. Frank Baum are reading this, my apologies for borrowing a line from one of the scariest movies I have ever YET to finish.  So off I went.

About LaJunta, Colorado I began to get a little tired and I realized that my body had been awake and going for well over 16 hours.  But since I was yet to become overwhelmingly drowsy I continued on.  The traffic was pretty light and I thought just as long as I kept plodding along, all would be well.  On to Pueblo, then Canon City and all of a sudden I began to wonder what the heck I was doing continuing to drive.  I knew that I'd never make it all the way to Montrose in one fell swoop as planned.  It would have been crazy to do that so I began to formulate "plan B"~just get to Salida and find a place to sleep for the night.

If I were going to choose the worst part of the drive for me, it would have to be that seemingly never ending journey from Canon City to Salida...on the map a journey of 57 miles that should have only taken an hour and fifteen minutes.  But as "Miller luck" would have it, the journey took twice that long.  I should not have been surprised since "Miller's luck" and "Murphy's Law" are second cousins twice removed on my mother's side of the family.  It was bound to happen.  The rise in elevation of over 1,800 feet got my attention really quick.  My ears began to pop even worse than they already had and thank goodness I'd remembered (thanks to my son Grahame) to have some gum along to chew.  The Honda Civic did its best and carried me up the road, slow but sure. 

 In a way, I was glad that it was pitch dark outside.  I figured it was better to NOT see where I'd end up landing if I left the road and went down into a canyon.  About an hour into the journey I saw a sign that said, "Royal Gorge, 1/2 mile" and I was determined not to visit it the hard way.    I jokingly told a few of my friends at school that if I didn't happen to make it back, that hey I'd lived a pretty good life for 57 years.  But actually I kind of DO like living. Once in a sad moment of time, when I felt like maybe I was an "idiot" for trying this all alone in the dark of the night, I thought about my late father.  I remember actually saying out loud at one point in time, "Daddy are you there?  It's me Peggy and I need you!"  Crazy wasn't it?  But I got this peace of mind almost instantly that everything would be ok....and I'll give you the cleaned up version of the message my dad sent me...  "Peggy Ann get your head where it belongs and you will be fine."  And he was right, I was.

After a good night's sleep in the town of Salida, I took out once more.  In the early morning hours, I arrived in Montrose and met up with my friend, Mike.  He has been a wonderful host, a terrific tour guide and wonderful friend to visit with for the past two days.  I have seen more marvelous and wonderful things in the past 48 hours than I have seen in most years of my life.  And I surely do thank Mike for his kindness in showing me around.  

You know friends I could have stayed home this weekend...hey, with the load of work that I have 
waiting for me when I get home tomorrow night, I'm gonna be up for quite awhile before bed time.  I should have done laundry, cleaned house, taken care of school work, done some preparatory work for our school 4H meeting this week and on and on and on and on.  But I say to you, FOR WHAT?  Every single thing I would have done by staying home would just have needed to be done once again in another couple of days, so when I got the "invite" to visit Colorado, I decided that for once in my life, I'd choose to do something more meaningful and long lasting than folding up my towels and wash cloths.  

I have experienced so very much here during this Colorado weekend and I'm sure that those around me must have recognized quickly that I was indeed a "flatlander".  If I had a dollar for every time I've said the word "WOW" since I got here on Saturday morning, well then I could take us all down to Bogey's and the drinks would be on me.  The scenery is absolutely breathtaking here and although I love the plains of Kansas, I'm sure that I could easily get used to Colorado's "purple mountains' majesty."  Take a peek below at what the road to Ouray looked like earlier this afternoon.

  I saw "ice climbers" by the score in Ouray who come there from all over the world to participate in their sport.  I could have watched them forever and listen to their voices echoing all over the canyon.  Their comraderie was inspiring to me and just watching them fearlessly attempting to scale some pretty wicked looking ice lifted my spirits even more than they already were.  I'm not quite crazy enough to try it, even though I'm sure my good friends Craig and Dennis might disagree, but it sure did look fun.  And if I cannot do it, then I sure did enjoy watching the many others there try to.  Here's a picture of a couple of guys getting ready to rappel down earlier today.

I ate Mexican food in a place whose ceiling was festooned with dollar bills, all inscribed with some message from the person who left them there.  Normally I would not have done something like that, but with the encouragement of my friend Mike, here's mine.  I shall always be a "legend" in there now...  LOL.

I learned how to play "Cribbage", watched the movie "The Book of Eli" and even "Avatar".  I enjoyed myself tremendously and I say "it's about time."  I only got lost twice and have managed to hang on to my checkbook, cell phone, car keys, and money for the entire time.  And friends, that's gotta be some kind of record for me and in that I do rejoice.

Since this was the last day I was going to be here, I was determined to squeeze in as much I could between the sun's rise and the sun's fall at the end of the day.  I woke up early to wait on the sun to come up so I could snap a photo.  I learned that the sun seems to come up a little differently here in Colorado~but it was beautiful just the same.  

                                     "morning has broken" Montrose, Colorado

And although I nearly missed taking the photo, I was able to capture the sun's quick departure in the western sky a couple of hours ago.  It was beautiful as well.

 Come tomorrow morning, I'll be heading out towards the wide open prairies of my home state of Kansas and I will leave with a grateful heart for the chance to come to Colorado and see the beautiful sights here.  I'm sure thankful that I made the decision to make the journey and know that I will return again someday to this place.  Friends, may I ask you something?  When was the last time that you made a decision to do something good for yourselves?  How long has it been since you went to Colorado, or went fishing and canoeing at the Boundary Waters?  Been a while since you visited your mom or your grandmother?  Been meaning to go back to school and get that degree?  And if not THOSE things, then what about a thousand other ones?  Please dear friends of mine, do not wait until tomorrow, or next week, or even next month to do it for we all surely do know that those "tomorrows" aren't even promised to us any way.  You will NEVER regret having done so but you WILL regret having never tried.  

Well, bedtime for me as I need to be on the road tomorrow early.  It will be a long drive back home to the Sunflower state and even though I'll thankfully be making most of the journey in broad daylight, I'd sure be thankful for prayers of safety on my behalf.  No need to worry about me, I'm going back in pretty good hands.  "His" hands know the way home.  Good night everyone...love to you all my dear friends and family.  See you at home!

To my dear friend, Mike Renfro, thank you for showing me the view from a different window this week end.  For your kindness, hospitality and friendship I am mighty beholden to you.

The class is called, "Life in Colorado, 101" and I'm trying to pass it :)

Good morning dear friends and family, all of you wherever you may be this day.  I slept in and instead of waking up at my usual 4:00 a.m., I didn't open my eyes until 5:15.  Boy, I feel like a slacker now :)  The world outside is still dark and save for just a few cars going up and down Highway 50, the rest of the world is yet asleep.  It won't take long and with the sunrise set for 7:24 this morning, things and people will start coming alive very soon.  Life is still very good!

A month or so ago, I finally came up with a "Miller-Renfro Colorado Bucket List for 2013" after many months of losing the focus of the original intent of this blog.  It was a list of ten items that I thought I could accomplish sometime within the next few months way out here along the Western Slopes of Colorado.  I did the first part of one a few weeks back when Mike and I drove to the top of Cerro Summit to watch a beautiful sunset atop a landmark that is not far from our home here in Montrose.  It really was pretty and a sight to behold.  

I loved the colours in the sky as the sun was setting that evening.  Just look at the many different shades of blue and purple.  God made the sky that night for us to enjoy.

Yesterday, Mike and I drove to a community that as the "crow flies" is about 60 miles south from us called Telluride.  Mike had been wanting for me to see it ever since we got back here this summer.  With yesterday's absolutely perfect weather here in south western Colorado, it seemed like a great day to do that.  Since one of the items on my bucket list is "to take photos of the beautiful Aspen trees in the fall", I figured it was a great day to "kill those two proverbial birds with one stone".  So off we went and the journey was not a disappointing one.  The drive truly was majestic.  Here are a few of the images that we saw along the way to share with you now.

The trees were gorgeous and their bright fall leaves stuck out all over the landscape, mixed in with the "evergreens" and dark red rocky mountainside.  I saw the beautiful Aspen trees all decked out in their autumn finery.  The golden colour is a most brilliant one and the leaves seem to shimmer in the sunlight.  The Cottonwood will always be my favourite tree, and not just because I am from Kansas either, but the Aspen now occupies the #2 spot on my "I like this tree" list.

You know, yesterday's trip to Telluride actually served a two-fold purpose for me.  It gave us a chance to get out of the house and for the price of a few gallons of gasoline and the time it took to  get there and back, we had a pretty nice afternoon.  I got to take a picture of some beautiful Aspens and mark it off of my current bucket list.  Yet, another very good purpose was served for me and it was one of importance as I adjust to life here in a place so very far away from Kansas.

Mike and I visited along the way yesterday about the early days here for me, beginning in late May after we were married and came back here from Kansas.  My initial days and weeks of life in Colorado were filled with extreme homesickness and sadness and I'm just now realizing nearly 5 months later that it was quite a shock to my system.  I was so busy being homesick, just trying to get through the days without crying and missing my family and friends back in Kansas that I ended up "missing" everything that was all around me.  For instance, that kinda big hill called the Grand Mesa that I see every morning as I drive north to Olathe?  Well for crying out loud, I just realized this week that I see it as well each time that I stop at the four-way corner at Hillside and Locust Road, only 3/4 of a mile from home. ( I know, that's sad isn't it?)   I have become aware of the fact that a whole lot of people put their swamp coolers atop their roofs here and geesch, I drive past these neighbourhoods all the time and never once noticed it until a few weeks back.  It took a second-grade boy at Olathe Elementary to set me straight on the fact that there are no farms here, only ranches.  I'll never forget the look on his face when he told me that, after asking him if he lived on a farm.  Kind of like a cross between-"Where in the world are YOU from?", "I sure feel sorry for you." and "You're kidding, right?"  The list could go on but the bottom line is this~If there was a class  for new guys to attend called "Furthering the Awareness of Your Colorado Surroundings 101", then I'd need to be there and sitting on the front row.  But hey, it's getting better.

Although I honestly have to say that I have yet to be totally endeared to this state, it's getting MUCH  better.  The mountains and I have generally speaking reached a truce with one another~They no longer give me that claustrophobic feeling that was very prevalent in my beginnings here. They are just there and I must admit those 14'ers are quite spectacular. As each day goes on, things get better and as Mike always reminds me it's ok to take baby steps along the way to becoming accustomed to life here in the west.  Although I am not yet "in love" with the state of Colorado, I have become endeared and close to many of its people.  From the fourth-grade students in my class and the rest of the staff at Olathe Elementary, to people that I have met from my new church, Redeemer Lutheran at Delta, to the guy that I left Kansas for and moved out here in the first place, my husband Mike, I have finally begun to make a connection to my new life here.  Slow but sure, I'm getting there.  

In my heart and mind, I will always have a place for my dear Kansas.  Its people and places are by far among the very best.  I will NEVER forget it and no one could ever make me.  But I have a big heart and there is room for Colorado in it as well.  Little by little, the place is being made for it and even though I have felt alone at times here, this I surely do know....the same God who watched over me back there in Hutchinson, Kansas did not lose track of me 611 miles to the west.   I have been most blessed.  

Time to get the day going everyone!  Hoping that you are all well and at peace with your life. This is Sunday, the 20th day of October in the year 2013.  By my count (ok, really the online calculator because who in the heck  really has the time to figure that out on their own?  Not me.),  I am 21, 179 days old today and heck if I live another 6 days I will actually make it to year #58.  It wasn't an accident that I woke up today and if you are reading this then it was not an accident for you either.  There's a purpose in mind for us, a reason for being and I think I'm gonna get dressed, put my shoes on and get out there and find out what that would be.  Love you guys all!

For a girl from Kansas who hates snow to begin with, this is a strange thing to be looking at.  I want to learn how to snowshoe out here and when I saw these in Telluride yesterday I was very shocked.  According to Mike, they are about 20 inches long and since I'm 60 inches tall, that's a third of my height.  I know what some of you are thinking, it's ok though.  As long as I don't try to jump a curb with any of them, I should be good to go.  And as I reminded my good friend LeRoy this morning, I've fallen flat on my face many times in this life of mine and I've survived all of them :)

So true what they do say~

I gave my aunt a call yesterday in the late afternoon as I was heading home from a meeting at school.  October 17, 2013 marked the occasion of her 100th birthday and even though I had just seen her this past weekend when Mike and I went home to Kansas for a visit, I wanted to wish her well.  It was pretty late in the day to be calling her and I knew that there was a possibility that she might already have gone to bed.  But I took a chance anyway and surprisingly enough she answered the phone on the third ring with a voice that sounded clear and happy.  We visited for a little while and I told her how glad I was that she had made it to 100 and I asked her how she was feeling.   She sounded just like the Aunt Beck that I have always known as she said, "You know, I think I'm feeling pretty good!" As we spoke I wondered where all the years had gone and when I asked her about that she said that honestly she didn't know either.  As I said good-bye and told her that I loved her I realized what has been said is true~"Time flies."

The dearest of aunts~Rebecca Unruh, my mom's sister.  So glad I saw her when I was back home in Kansas this last weekend.

I have thought often since we returned from Kansas at the first part of this week about the classmates that I saw and other old friends as well at the class reunion back in Haven, Kansas.  Kids who knew one another as well as they would have known their own brothers and sisters, heck maybe even better, gathered together after 40 years of being apart from one another.  Mike and I had a great time attending the dinners, both at Haven High School and the Anchor Inn, and catching up on the news of the past 40 years.  After we were together for a few minutes or so, it was as if we really hadn't been all that far apart to begin with.  It was such a blessing to be able to spend even just this short while with them and to reconnect both in heart and mind.  Friends from my childhood days, they all were.  And lest I sound like Miss Fran from our "Romper Room" days~I saw Craig and Allen, Janis and Tony, Barb and Kathy, Tanya and Jamie and I saw Larry and Steve too!  There was  Rex and Betty Ann, Lyndon and Cindy, and oh wow, I even saw Jim, Sam, Ruth, Kevin and Mary Ann.  (some very young folks reading this are saying to themselves, "Who the heck is Miss Fran and what in the world was Romper Room?" To those young people, I say that the best thing that you could do is to find a grown up to ask and they will tell you.) :)  When we said our "good-byes" to one another all of us were shaking our heads with wonder about how so much of our lives had already passed by us.  You know, it's not like we are on our "last legs" or anything but hey, we got a little older while time passed by.  I guess it's true what they say~"Time flies."

The class of 1973-friends from the days of my youth and I will always remember them.

We were talking here at home last evening how it would soon be a whole year that Mike and I "reconnected" with one another after 40 years of living so far apart from one another.  I had to stop and think, but he was surely correct.  I remember well that day in the early part of January this year that I decided to brave the elements and stand up to crossing Monarch Pass in the winter.  It was not an easy journey but I made it and ended up coming here to live after Mike and I were married back in Kansas on the last day of school in May.  Much has happened to me since that day now almost 5 months ago, all of it very memorable in its own way.  Even though, especially in my early days of loneliness and being homesick for Kansas, it seemed as though time drug by, really in all actuality the days have gone by very quickly.  Now as I get ready to endure my first winter out here, I look at all of the fullness of my first weeks and months in Colorado.  The little baby raccoons, the deer herd, the sunflowers and all the other things that "saved" a very lonely and homesick flatlander from Kansas are just things in my memory.  Just another way to realize that the age old adage is most certainly and surely correct~"Time flies."

                        January of 2013 at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison

        October of 2013 at home along the Western Slopes in Montrose, Colorado

And speaking of time flying by, an entire hour has now passed since I awoke at 4:15 and started the pot of coffee going.  The clock on the kitchen wall says "Hey, it's time to get a move on girl!" Since they frown on teachers showing up late and wearing their pajamas, I guess I'd better get going.  The week has flown by (imagine that) and there is much to be done in my fourth grade classroom.  They'll be waiting on me, I know they will :)  Oh and one last thing.  I had a bad dream last night, one that woke me up and don't you hate those kinds of things?  In my dream, I found out that an old friend had passed away and I hadn't even known it.  I felt so bad that I had never taken the time to call them up and tell them how much they meant to me.  No idea where that dream came from but it makes me even more aware of the fact that our lives are short to begin with.  I might be blessed with 100 years as my aunt has been this week or my life could well be over today, next week, next month, or next year.  Knowing that I say to you all this morning.....I am so grateful that we are friends and family with one another.  I feel really blessed that even though I live far away from most of you now, I can still hold each of you close in my heart.  I won't forget you ever and I pray that you will remember me as well.  Everything in this world happens for a reason, it is not an accident nor is it a case of good/bad luck.  With a grateful heart, I thank you for being my friends and I always wish the best for you all.  This is Friday, the 18th of October in the year 2013.  It's a great day to be alive in so please go out and enjoy every minute of it because remember it is surely true what they say and shoot go ahead and say it with me~"Time flies."  Love you all! 

As we unpack our memories~

Good morning everyone~

What a difference a day makes!  Just yesterday morning at this time we were still sitting at the dining room table at my old home on 14th Street in Hutchinson. We were 611 miles and one time zone away from where we are this morning along the western slopes of Colorado at home in Montrose.  Yesterday's marathon session of driving, about 11 hours in all, got us into the driveway here about 10:30 our time.  Mike and I were so tired that we just left everything in the car, walked in the house and straight to bed and sleep!  When our heads hit our pillows, it was "lights out" in extremely short order.  

When daylight comes and we go out to empty out the car, we'll probably unpack a lot of memories as well.  So many nice things happened to us while we were there in south central Kansas and for every blessing we received, wow in the least of things, we give thanks.  It was surely nice to see all of the kids that returned for our 40th class reunion and to see all of the other graduates of Haven High School as well.  I'm sorry that we weren't able to have our entire class there and for those who couldn't make it, you were definitely missed.  At the Friday evening dinner in the commons area of Haven High the tables were nearly full.  I thought it spoke volumes about our school that so many people, some from very far away, would return to visit it and one another.  As I have said before and with no disrespect to others intended, I am thankful that I had the chance to attend a small rural school in south central Kansas.  Sure, maybe we didn't have all the choices that kids who went to large, city schools did but we received benefits that later on in our lives were much more valuable.  If you did not attend a small school like Haven High, then you missed out on a lot of life's experiences.  Ok, end of my sermon on the value of attending small schools.  AMEN

While we were back home, I stopped into the Hutch News to inquire about getting a mail subscription to the newspaper.  I know that I could read it online and pay a whole lot less and also know the news immediately, not three days later.  But you know there is something about holding an actual newspaper in your hands and smelling its ink-filled scent that is most appealing to me.  I'm going to give it a try for a month and even if the paper comes days after the fact, at least I'll find something in the mailbox that is very valuable to me~news from home!  While I was there, I stopped by the desk of a dear friend of mine, Kathy Hanks.  We became friends several years ago when she wrote a couple of stories about me in the paper.  I love to read her stories because not only are they well written, they always contain a "human touch" about them and I like that.  Since Kathy and I are friends on Facebook, I took her a diet Dr. Pepper (we are so alike) to work on my bucket list item of finding each of my Facebook friends, buying them something to drink and talking about life for a while.  We had a great visit and so happy to have seen her.

 Check out her stories in the Hutchinson News~I love the way she writes!

The day ahead of us will be very busy with much to do here.  It's back to work for both Mike and I tomorrow.  I kinda miss those 18 little people that sit in my classroom at Olathe Elementary School and since I promised them that I would return to school, I guess I had better keep my promise :)  

Come this time tomorrow morning, that's where I will be found.
We were so glad to see those of you that we could on our journey back to Kansas and felt bad about those we weren't able to visit with.  Plans are to travel back there in about 6 weeks during our Thanksgiving break, weather permitting.  But for now, we are here at home in a place on the "other side" and this is where our life together is now made.  Colorado is NOT Kansas but you know what?  It was never meant to be the same.  Slowly but surely with the tiniest of baby steps I am getting used to it.  I still want to bulldoze a great big fat hole all the way through the mountains in order to get a glimpse of the flatlands from time to time.  Since that's probably a feat that will never happen, I'll just rely on the pictures that I took on both my camera and in my heart to suffice.  Have a great day to you all!  We love you guys, each of you.  I am alive and well here and I thank God every day for the blessings that He gives to me in this life of mine.  

My childhood friend for over 50 years now, trying to live long enough to make 75 years :) and that's gotta be a record somewhere~Allen Hale

Dear friends of mine from so long ago, Kathy Perriman and Barb Bogner.  Lots of slumber parties were held in the upstairs of the Perriman home on Topeka Street in Haven.  If those walls could talk....but I'm glad that didn't!

  I loved taking photos during our time back home and each of them was so special.  Yet out of all the ones I took, this one is probably going to have to be my very favourite!  My dear friend from the "land of long ago, and far, far away".....Janis Collman Frederick   We look like two little girls standing there and guess what?  Someone told me as we were standing side-by-side that I actually was TALLER than her!  Imagine that :)  So good to see you dear friend.

Even if he does have a "lead foot", so thankful that he did most of the driving home.  He knows the roads and routes a lot better than I do.  "Lucky" Renfro...the blessing.

For when the time comes to return home~

Morning everyone out there and greetings to you from me here in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Oh how strange it feels to sit here and type this blog post from a place so very far away from my new home in Montrose, Colorado.  Mike and I have been here since the very early morning hours on Thursday, having travelled the over 600 miles it takes to get here, all in one fell swoop.  We were tired and exhausted by the time we arrived but oh how glad I am that we made it and have had nearly 4 full days to be here.  There is never enough time to do all that we want or to see every person that we'd like to.  Thankfully we shall return again during the November-December holidays and knowing that makes it a little easier to go home today.

This morning I am filled with a myriad of feelings and that doesn't surprise me a bit.  When I woke up a while ago and told Mike that I was getting up to write in my blog, he understood completely.  I told him that I felt a little sad and when I feel a bit like this, sitting down at the keyboard of this computer and pounding away on all of the keys helps me to feel better.  One thing I have learned in this life of mine is you can't feel happy all of the time.  Life has its highs and lows; I have surely seen both.  

When Mike asked me a month or so ago what I wanted for my birthday this October 26th, the answer was simple~"I want to go home to Kansas and be at my class reunion in Haven.  That's all I want."  That wish has certainly been fulfilled.  As I sit at the dining room table in the really early morning hours and hear the lonesome sound of the AMTRAK's whistle, I realize there have been many more blessings that I have found along the way to home in Kansas.  I will remember all of them.

It's kind of a strange thing about my hometown of Haven, Kansas.  You know you never really leave it.  I graduated from there in 1973, now 40 years ago.  Although I have lived in Reno County for all of my life, I moved away from Haven in 1982.  I finally left Kansas and moved to Colorado in late May of this year and now I live so very far away across the Continental Divide.  Yet in my heart, that little Reno County town that I was raised up in is ALWAYS going to be like "home" to me.  How wonderful it was on Friday and Saturday to be able to spend some time in a place that has meant all the world to me, way back then and even now today.  This Kansas girl's heart is filled to overflowing with great memories now and maybe that's why it kind of feels like it breaks a bit when I leave it to go home.  

We have had a great time while we have been here.  I got to do most all that was on my list.  I went  through the Bogey's drive-thru three times and enjoyed every single drink of my diet vanilla Dr. Peppers with extra ice.  Shoot, before we go home today I'll probably go through one more time.  What the heck?  It's not illegal you know :)  I got to walk in my old neighbourhood and although I won't be able to see the leaves on the trees change into their beautiful autumn colours, at least I saw them once again.  We went to one my favourite places to shop, a thrift store called the ETC. Shop down on Main Street and I even bought a thing or two to tuck into the corners of the trunk of the car as we go back today.  Mike and I ate breakfast at the Firehouse Cafe with our children, Grahame and Ursela one morning and at long last, we even went into Fraese Drug Store on South Main Street to enjoy lunch Friday noon.  I've lived here forever and those are two places I always heard folks speak of but I never once went into them.  About dang time, I would say.  And right now?  Well right now I am enjoying the sound of train's whistle and that's something I have surely missed.  I hardly ever see a train in Montrose, let alone hear one's whistle.  I never realized how much I would miss that because I have done my share of "cussing and discussing" them while being held up by one, especially the one on the very south end of town.  But miss them I DO now.  Last but not least, my class reunion.

I want to commend the Haven High School Alumni Association for the banquet they put on for all of the alumni of Haven High School.  I'd always heard about this Friday night event that happens each year on the evening before the annual Fall Festival but never had the chance to attend.  Now that I have, I would love attend it again.  The commons area of the high school was filled to the brim with graduates of classes all the way from 1939 to some young kids from the class of 2003.  To listen to the sounds of their laughter and conversations, some from many decades ago, was so heart warming and uplifting to my spirit.  The table reserved for my class, the class of 1973, was filled with people who were kids who went to school together, many of us for the entire 12 years of our education.  The time went so quickly that evening, giving all kinds of credence to the adage "Time flies when you are having fun!"

Those that were able to attend Friday night posed for a group photo before we left the high school that evening.  We were really happy to be together again at long last.

Saturday was a great day as well and being able to spend it attending the parade and other Fall Festival activities in Haven helped to make a lot of memories to store up in our hearts.  These pictures will truly be worth "a thousand words" to me in the months ahead.  They can tell the story way better than I will ever be able to.

 We missed our old friends Toni and Joyce who normally would be standing here alongside of us...

 We slipped these two guys in the picture to help us fill the void :)

 I was taking Uncle Sam's photo when he decided to walk over and remind me of how very short I am!

 Mike's sister Nancy and his two nieces joined us to watch the parade along Kansas Avenue.

 I ran into a young man that I met long ago when he lived next door to us.  Greg and my son Ricky are friends from long ago.

 Standing right there along the street was my friend from long ago, Kenna Shaver Riley.  I cannot remember the last time I saw her but it was surely nice to see her once again.

Just as we were getting ready to leave, a young woman's voice called out my name...it was a former first-grade student of mine from the third year of my teaching career.  Little Sonya Savaiano has grown up now but she still remembers our time together.  What a blessing, a true blessing to be able to see her once again after all of these years that we have been apart.  She's a momma now with a little one of her own.  

Well the time has come to go and even though I might wish we could stay longer, at least we got to stay this long.  Both Mike and I must be at work on Tuesday morning and we have a long ways to go home.  We'll be checking the weather before we head out today and drive with caution.  When you live where we do, you are totally at the mercy of the mountains and the ever changing weather.  Old Monarch Pass was there on Wednesday night and it will be waiting for us later on today.  We hope to make it with no trouble at all.  

Kansas, it was good to see you again.  I miss you and your people very much.  I love you and I always will and there is nothing that will ever make me change my mind. Colorado, we are heading back home.  May the roads be kind to us and all the travellers out there today.  See you at Thanksgiving everyone :)  You guys are much loved by me!

                               We were classmates once~we are friends always.