~and it was the view from a different window~

3:30 a.m.
Montrose, Colorado
The San Juan Mountains

It seems strange to say that we are here in the mountains once again.  Mike and I arrived yesterday in the early afternoon and as we drove down from Grand Junction, it was heartwarming to see the familiar sights along the way.  The mountains, the Grand Mesa, the sweet little towns of Delta and Olathe, and finally the sign that welcomed us home to Montrose were captured and stored inside of our memory banks and hearts.

The first thing we did was head to the laundromat, a place that we frequented every weekend for two years.  Our old house had no place to have a washer/dryer so each Saturday morning we would pack up our dirty laundry and head to town.  It was nice to see our old friends, Pat and Pete, who just recently sold their laundry business but were still around helping the new owner get started.  We had a nice visit with them and will see them later on this morning for breakfast.

We also had to check out a couple of local places on Main Street and were saddened to see that one of the places has now closed up.  All that remained was the barren store building and a sign on the front saying it was now up for lease.  We did however find our other favorite place, the local Hospice thrift store, open and full of customers.  That store remained our favorite all the while and we were always happy to support it.  The proceeds from their sales benefit hospice patients in this area and since both Mike and I had experience with our parents and other family members in hospice care, it seemed most fitting for us to patronize it.  Our car is already loaded down with things from California, so we made sure that whatever it was that we purchased would fit readily into what very little space was available.  Mike is a genius at organizing things like that so he made it work with no trouble.

Last night we met our dear friends Toni and Scot for supper and listened to the music of Donny Morales, another friend from this area.  How wonderful it was to have the chance to sit and talk about the old times as well as all of our hopes and plans for the future.  We hope to see many more friends in the short time we are here.  We left behind many good folks who became just like "family" to us here.

It seems strange to be writing a blog post from here in Montrose, a place where 2 years' worth of them were written.  I could not sleep and rather than toss and turn, I decided to send a brief hello from this special town.  I always thought it looked like a little kingdom of sorts, nestled safely into a valley deep in the mountains.  I only called it "home" for two short years but in the time that I lived here, many things happened to me.

99.9% of them were wonderful.

Tomorrow Mike and I will begin the journey back home to Texas.  800 miles separate us from where we are now and the new life we have begun in the Lone Star state. We have one last day to make as many memories as we can.  Some day we will return for a visit but until that time we will remember the good people of this community and how they helped us along the way.

God blessed us through it all.
To Him, we give thanks.

The view from a different window was this one.

From a year and a half ago now~He was the one who brought me here.  We have a simple plan in life and it is called "sticking together".