~as we wonder where the time went~

Every once in a while I find myself standing outside of our house back in Montrose and staring to the east.  611 miles to the east.  I look at the majestic Black Canyon of the Gunnison and realize that beyond its reach lies the great state of Kansas and the place that I called home for so many years.  I wonder about what they are doing there and if everything is fine.  For a fleeting moment in time, I imagine that I too am with them all.  I guess I have missed that place even more than I thought I could imagine.  

Greetings from the flatlands.

A week ago this day we left the mountains of Colorado and headed towards the wonderful area of the world known to all as "KANSAS".  It had been nearly half of a year since I had been back home and I wanted to return once more to see my family and friends for the holidays.  It took a while to get here but how very worth the effort it was.  The days flew by quickly but that realization comes at no surprise to me.  As the age old adage reminds us, "Time flies when you are having fun."  

I have been away from Hutchinson and Reno County long enough that some things seemed a bit strange at first to me upon returning this time.  Stores have closed here in town while still others have opened for business.  Streets have been repaved and redone all over the place making driving a much more pleasurable experience.  The Wiley Building renovation is essentially complete and how wonderful it has been to see that landmark of this area being used once again.  I swear that the local community college campus has changed over the past 6 months although I cannot quite put a finger on what the dissimilarities were.  It just looks different.  The list goes on and on of the subtle changes that I have noticed while being here.  Finally, after the passage of seven days' time I am becoming reacquainted with the place that was my home for the past 55+ years.

Just in time, I would suppose.  We are going back home the day after tomorrow.

While I have been here, I have tried to make as many memories as I possibly could and have stored them up in my heart to take back with me to the Western Slopes and my new home back there.  The very first night we were here Mike and I ate at Bogey's, a local favorite of mine.  That cheeseburger, tater tots and diet vanilla dr. pepper tasted so good to me.  It had been a long time since my taste buds had received such a treat.  I've been to the EtCetera Shop twice now and plan to go back again today if time allows me to do so.  I am looking for things to fill the treasure box up with for my classroom at Olathe Elementary and there is no better place than there to find things at a very reasonable price.  I have seen the Kansas Cosmosphere once again, visited Smith's Market down on South Main Street, attended church at St. Jude Catholic Church in Wichita, and listened to the bell choir at the Haven United Methodist Church.  We have spent time with both the Scott and Renfro families in celebration of the Christmas holidays.  The days have been packed full of wonderful things to remember and I know that in the days ahead as Mike and I return back to the life that we left behind a week ago, that I will be so very grateful for the journey home.  

We have one more day here tomorrow and Mike and I will spend a great deal of it in Wichita as we visit our favorite places over there.  The Spice Merchant and Gander Mountain are on our list of places to visit as I work on my "list of 60 things to do before I turn 60 next year".  Lunch at "the Artichoke" is something I've been looking forward to for a long time.  

One final day to make as many memories as I can.  

Hutchinson, Kansas I am going to miss you, perhaps quite fiercely for a while.  But before I begin to cry, I hope to recall with gratitude that I was able to even get here in the first place.  It has meant the world to me to see everyone and to be a part of their lives during the past 7 days here.  Dear friends and family this much I know of.  You are so very loved and remembered by me.   

Haven, Kansas on Christmas Day of 2014

My childhood home just north of Haven on the Buhler-Haven Road.  We lived here for 5 years while my parents were building our restaurant and gas station in town.