19 November 2009 ~ Silverthorne, Colorado

It has been a crazy month in my world. The laughter and happy chaos of our Family Build quickly dissolved into a couple of stress filled weeks that left me questioning my sanity and relearning hard lessons. We are still recovering from the topsy-turvy events so when Jim asked if I’d like to ride along for a couple of peace filled days in the mountains I jumped at the chance.

On Tuesday we were up well before dawn and headed up a road that we memorized during our 17 month sojourn in the Rockies. We laughed and rehashed stories about those weekend trips that would bring us to our city home and then take us back to our mountain home again. We also remembered the weekend that the 80 minute commute took us nearly 10 hours as a severe storm detoured us through stunning, snow covered vistas. We both remember making the drive from Denver to Frisco in all kinds of weather and at every hour of the day. It never failed to take our breath away and it still does.

By the time we hit the long tunnel on I-70 it was light and the sun was throwing the most beautiful shadows onto the snow. We still call it the Eisenhower Tunnel even though it is actually two tunnels that cross under the Continental Divide. The eastbound bore was christened for Edwin C. Johnson when it was completed a full six years after the Eisenhower half of the tunnel was opened. In years past I would suffer a mini-anxiety attack every time we drove the two mile span. I had to throw the window open for long gulps of fresh air once we were through. I found that the weekly trips up and back helped cure me of my fear of the tunnel but then I just happened to read an old Stephen King novel “The Stand” and every time we drive through now I can imagine it pitch black and full of scary things. It really doesn’t bother me anymore, thank goodness!

After the long downhill grade we dropped into Silverthorne and Jim set to work wiring new lighting in a small distribution center. It was pretty frosty so I was content to sit in the truck and read for awhile. While I was waiting for a few degrees of warmth I could look up from my book and see the snow covered peaks that surround this small town. The Rocky Mountain Pine Beetle has almost fulfilled its life purpose to destroy the lush forest that used to fill Ptarmigan Mountain with year around green so I wasn’t as shocked as I was in 2006 when each trip seemed to highlight more dead trees. I remembered spending a December week in this town and I remembered several jet black nights when the Christmas lights on the mountain were a pale reflection of the CHRISTmas lights in the sky.

I finally couldn’t resist the first walk of the day and bundled up tight against the icy high altitude air. Since Jim and I lived just over the hill from here for well over a year this town and the surrounding communities are all familiar spaces. I found the quickest access to the Blue River Bike Path and spent an hour hiking from one end of town to the other. Within seconds I was deep in the memories of hundreds of early morning walks on the other side of the reservoir that separates Silverthorne from Frisco. I quickly remembered a few of the lessons I learned during those walks and laughed aloud at some of the memories. I remembered the “ice cream” headaches when I overestimated the temperature and left home without a toque or a scarf. I remembered the first few months when my body had to learn how to grab enough oxygen out of this dry high altitude air. And I remembered the tricks of traversing treacherous terrain. It was fun to remember.

I got out and walked several times during the day and each time was filled with memory making scenery along this section of the Blue. I told Jim I was surprised that the shallows aren’t freezing yet and the Fisherman informed me that this section of the river never freezes over. In the early sixties the Denver Water Board relocated the entire town of Dillon from the bottom of the valley to the top then captured water from the Blue and Snake Rivers and from Ten Mile Creek and other water ways that drained into the valley. This section of the Blue River is now drawn off the bottom of Dillon Reservoir and Jim says the temperature is downright balmy in comparison to the temp on the surface of the lake which does freeze over. This discussion reminded me of the early spring doldrums when the town of Frisco rewards a prize to anyone who can guess the day and hour that the ice will go off the lake. It is a festive event involving a carefully positioned barrel and a clock and the whole town is caught up in this sure sign that spring and summer will eventually come back to the mountains.

When I wasn’t walking on Tuesday I was reading. If I told you the title of the book I was reading you would be surprised but you would immediately understand why I found such reassurance in its pages. I bought the book several months ago and wasn’t really looking forward to almost 500 pages on a subject I’d rather not think about. But if I had read the book when I bought it I might have been better prepared for the stresses of the last weeks. I know I wouldn’t have been blindsided by things I should have expected. The book reassured me that we are on the right track in dealing with the inevitabilities that each human being faces after a long life. And it reminded me again what an honor it is to be entrusted with the great responsibilities of this day and of the days to come.

So, with all that said, I find myself once again waiting for a little more warmth before I brave another brisk walk. Jim is back at his work and I am excited to be here again for another day remembering how it felt to live in this incredible landscape. On Tuesday we finished the day with the best pizza in Frisco at the Backcountry Brewery and a stop at our favorite bookstore. We’ll make another star blazed trip home in the dark tonight and we’ll rehash more memories and we’ll both agree that we miss living up here. We miss the daily routines of walks in sun and snow surrounded by mountain vistas. We miss the smell of summer sunshine in the pines and winter wood smoke. We miss the congeniality of small town living up here near the top of the world. We miss the fireworks over the lake and watching it make its own weather as the morning sun sets the fog ablaze. We miss everything about each one of our mountain homes in Summit and Lake Counties. And when things get crazy again I know we’ll both be wishing we were here at home.

11 November 2009 ~ reminding myself who REALLY controls the universe

Near Fish Creek ~ Colorado

Officer's Gulch ~ Colorado

Frisco ~ Colorado

Oceanside ~ California

Encinitas ~ California

Huntington Beach ~ California

Golden ~ Colorado

Hudson ~ Colorado

South Park ~ Colorado

Snyder ~ Colorado

St. Vrain State Park ~ Colorado

HOME! ~ Colorado

29 October 2009 ~ One weary but snow happy Girl

We are digging ourselves out of nearly two feet of the wonderful white stuff so I really can’t stay today. I am just ecstatic when I can get a video to post on AARP so I was especially thrilled when the latest one finally posted after repeated tries. You’ll find the pictures there and I just don’t have a lot of time for the words but the Reader’s Digest Condensed Version would say:

In Two Weeks my family (2 grandparents, 4 parents and 5 grandsons):

Met a suicidal deer on a dark, deserted highway and totaled one vehicle

Lost the fuel pump on another vehicle

Killed one dryer

Shopped for a car

Bought one sadly neglected old house with good bones

Took down one wall – Mark with Joshua’s help

Set one beam in place of a bearing wall – Mark with Joshua’s help

Cleaned drywall dust

Installed one dryer outlet and one freezer outlet

Wired switches and outlets

Ran gas line for one stove

Gutted one bathroom

Partially gutted another bathroom

Installed two toilets

Set one bathroom vanity, sink and fixtures

Shopped for a car

Cleaned drywall dust

Tore out miles of antique carpet

Sanded miles of hardwood floors that were hidden by antique carpet

Cleaned sanding dust

Four coats of finish on miles of beautiful hardwood floors

Tore out a kitchen floor

Laid new kitchen subfloor

Laid new kitchen tile

Installed new drywall in one ceiling

Drywall patch and texture throughout main living area

Cleaned drywall dust

Shopped for a car

Tore out bathroom floor

Laid new bathroom subfloor

Laid new bathroom tile

Two coats of paint in two hallways

Two coats of paint in four rooms

Trimmed two overgrown trees and pulled up several bushes

Changed one propane stove to natural gas before it was installed

Shopped for a car

And I almost forgot to add the fact that my 80 year old mother wanted to help so she did in the only way she can right now. She cooked a delicious moving day meal for all of us including all of the family favorites right down to her famous Peanut Butter Cookies!!

Ho, are ya tired yet? I know I am forgetting about two dozen other projects that kept all of us busy for seven straight thirteen hour days. Jim and I would come home late, wolf down a fast food meal and catch a few winks before we groaned our way back to the house the next morning before dawn. Then you have to include moving a whole boatload of furniture, appliances and more boxes than you can count into the new house. And then throw in the constant chore of keeping 5 busy little boys pointed in a constructive direction.

Here at the end of this whirlwind we are still recovering. But the good news is that we only got a few bumps and bruises and slivers and a couple of little boys with hammers stayed out of trouble. The family that hit the deer was a little shook up but the only injuries belonged to the deer that vanished into the night. They are still shopping for a car.

Every single member of this family did their share to build a clean, solid beginning in the new house. Jim was a great straw boss and lined us all out to do what needed to be done. It was hard work but I think each one of us would tell you that we had a ball. Well, maybe you should wait another day or two before you ask that question because some of us are still groaning. But we made great memories together and the best thing of all is that we can still laugh and we are completely snowed in and missing a couple of cars so we really do have to take a break!

20 October 2009 ~ wide awake at 3 am

The big renovation project started on Friday and things are in full swing so I really can’t stay long. When our daughter and her husband found the perfect house just four minutes from our house they knew it needed a lot of work. The elderly homeowner had moved in with his children over a year ago and the house had been sitting just as he left it. So Jim and Joshua took a week of vacation and we are all knee deep in painting, wiring, and several flooring projects. The list is long but we are seeing progress every day and hope to get them moved in this weekend.

So, while I’m up to my appetite in work and family and loving every minute I thought I’d leave you with some links to some of my favorite journals. You can take some trips with me while I’m actually busy finishing a beautiful old hardwood floor or painting my grandson’s bedroom. These are just a few of my favorite word pictures. Enjoy!

THE INN OF THE BLACK WOLF

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/THE_INN_OF_THE_BLACK_WOLF/269841?cn=STREAM_RockyMountainGirl_journals_large_PAGE20

THE EVOLUTION OF CAMPING

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/THE_EVOLUTION_OF_CAMPING/288531

A MILLION DOLLAR MEMORY

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/A_MILLION_DOLLAR_MEMORY/576972?cn=STREAM_RockyMountainGirl_journals_large_PAGE14

UNDER A MAPLE LEAF FLAG

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/UNDER_A_MAPLE_LEAF_FLAG/809971?cn=STREAM_RockyMountainGirl_journals_large_PAGE10

PLANETARY SHIFT

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/PLANETARY_SHIFT/288411

TRANSITIONS

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/TRANSITIONS/284491

SHE PAYS HER DADDY WITH PEACHES

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/SHE_PAYS_HER_DADDY_WITH_P/284301

MONTH 9  YEAR 2005

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/MONTH_9__YEAR_2005/275342

SOFT PLACE TO LAND

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/SOFT_PLACE_TO_LAND/275222

THE ANGEL ON THE BRIDGE

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/THE_ANGEL_ON_THE_BRIDGE/305712?cn=STREAM_RockyMountainGirl_journals_large_PAGE18

HABITAT FOR INHUMANITY

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/HABITAT_FOR_INHUMANITY/370861

REPORT FROM CRITTER COUNTY

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/REPORT_FROM_CRITTER_COUNT/349721

RUNNING AWAY

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/RUNNING_AWAY/538491?cn=STREAM_RockyMountainGirl_journals_large_PAGE14

THINGS I NEVER THOUGHT I’D DO

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/THINGS_I_NEVER_THOUGHT_ID/773971?cn=STREAM_RockyMountainGirl_journals_large_PAGE11

LESSONS LEARNED DURING A MOUNTAIN YEAR

http://www.aarp.org/community/RockyMountainGirl/journals/LESSONS_LEARNED_DURING_A_/272922

15 October 2009 ~ slightly sleepless and coughing

The dog and I were out near midnight. We were both restless at that hour, she had business to take care of and I had the opposable thumbs to open the door and let her out. She puttered around in the dog run while I breathed in the wonder of a quiet neighborhood under a sky full of stars. We had snow last weekend and some bitter temperatures but the last few days have been filled with glorious “Indian Summer” weather so the dog and I were barefoot and surprised to find the ground warm.

Just a few days into this new season and it feels like I have been on an emotional roller coaster since the very first day of autumn. If you read my stuff you already know that I consider myself a Depression Survivor so it might not surprise you that I have to keep track of my emotional well-being. I’ve learned to recognize the first symptoms of another invitation to dance with the devil and I’ve learned that I don’t have to cave in and accept that invitation. By the time I had the first little tickle at the back of my throat I knew there was nothing I could do to prevent this cold but Depression is different and the first warning signs just give me an opportunity to figure out what the problem is then work through it.

So, I have been sorting through the stresses of the last few weeks. I’ve been thinking about how I feel about each event and then giving myself permission to really feel the emotion and determine if there is anything I can do about the stress. It is always a very revealing process.

The last month has been full of losses. We lost two of our dear old neighbors to death and another to an assisted living facility and I run into the sad reminders each time I walk out the door. It just doesn’t feel right that I won’t run into those men and exchange a wave or a minute of conversation. The world twisted just slightly off kilter when my childhood friends started cleaning out the house they grew up in. I knew their father would need the funds from the sale of his home to make him comfortable in his new living quarters but I didn’t know how sad it would be to see him go. We all have a lot of history in this place and it doesn’t seem right that so much is changing so fast.

Jim has worked for a well known and highly respected electrical contractor for the last 18 years. The company was sold last year to a corporation that is systematically eating the heart out of the company we once loved. The business had started as a small family enterprise and even though it has grown to include branch offices in several states it never lost that family business feel….until last year. In all the years past we have felt the special camaraderie of a team effort to provide the most excellent customer service while meeting the needs of the employees and the company as well. It was a family business model that served this company for nearly 60 years and left them with a stellar reputation amongst their employees, their customers and even the competition.

But now someone thinks they know a better way to run this business. Actually, several “someones” have determined that the old way of doing business just won’t do anymore. Apparently, excellent customer service provided by excellent Electricians supported by excellent leadership and support staff isn’t the way to do business in this economy. Jim’s boss was fired after 30 years of high quality production in the Denver branch. And then an Estimator who came up through the ranks and never forgot the guys in the field resigned because of his own misgivings about the new direction this company is moving. These two honorable men have left a gaping hole in the family we have known. We are getting the impression that the new business model leans heavily on corporate profits at the expense of employee safety and morale and, contrary to what they claim, customer service be damned. We are reeling and are trying to decide how long we can stand to watch the corporation steal the heart out of our family business. Hard decisions ahead.

The good news is that there is good news! Our family is safe and sound. The little family that shares our home took a well deserved break for a wedding in Minneapolis last weekend. They enjoyed a whirlwind visit with our son-in-law’s family and were headed home when they had a close encounter with a deer. On a pitch black night in the middle of nowhere the animal crashed into the side of their car leaving it severely damaged but drivable. They walked away from the accident without a scratch.

And after long months of anxiety our little country family is finally moving back to the city! Devout Christians, they had prayed through every point of this big decision and were still surprised at how quickly their country home was sold. They searched hard for a home in our neighborhood at a price that would allow our daughter to raise and teach her own children at home. Each time they found the “perfect” home that went to a higher bidder we were all disappointed. But they just kept praying until the day our son-in-law decided to drop in on an old friend who just happened to be home and just happened to answer the door and just happened to be thinking about selling her father’s home which just happened to be located, you guessed it, in our neighborhood! The closing is today and within a week or two all of our little chicks will be living within 1 ½ miles and FOUR MINUTES of our home!!! Can you tell that we’re excited?

So, I won’t be back here for a few days. Jim and I are devoting a week of volunteer vacation to our own family this year. He’ll be off next week and we plan to paint and build and move and babysit and cook and clean and offer any loving support our kids need as some of them buy a new car and some of them move into a new house. We will all be busy and we will be thanking God for the ups and the downs and the gains and the losses of this last year. But most of all we’ll be thanking Him for blessing us with family. In the end that is all that really matters.

I'm still fighting a miserable cold but I wanted to add another photo journal in celebration of one of my favorite Colorado places. Jim and I lived in our RV in Leadville during the fall of 2007 while he worked on a project in Vail. His commute over Tennessee Pass was stunning and I spent my days absorbing the beauty and the history of the highest incorporated city in North America. Leadville sits about two miles above sea level and is flanked by some of Colorado's highest peaks. It is a place of wonder. I hope you agree!

The Tabor Opera House built in 1879. Opening night was "marred by a recent vigilante hanging across the street."

The Delaware Hotel opened in 1886

Freemont Pass near the Climax Molybdenum Mine

Leadville, Colorado September 2007

Mount Massive in September

The Mosquito Range

One of my early morning views of the Mosquito Range. I love the way this ridge of trees appeared out of the fog.

Mt. Elbert at 14,433 feet is the highest peak in Colorado. It towers over the town of Leadville.

The House with the Eye ~ Leadville, CO

Leadville is filled with this wonderful old architecture. The stories these walls could tell!

Granddad and Decklyn, 7 years old

5 October 2009 ~ in the best neighborhood in town

It has been a crazy couple of weeks and I am just now able to sit down for a few minutes to write. I’ve been stashing some words in my commonplace book but most of those are just for me and the ones I can share have been rattling around just waiting for some quiet space. I thought I might have some time this morning but the grandson who shares my home needed some loving attention while his folks are down with miserable colds.

There was a little bit of magic in the air this morning. Decklyn is seven now and the early morning and evening rituals we used to share aren’t a daily occurrence like they used to be. From the time he was able to navigate the stairs he would often pay an early morning visit for some cuddle time and conversation. Granddad and I both enjoyed the companionship of our wide awake but content to snuggle boy. At that age Decklyn capped his days with another snuggle and a book or two and I could feel the cares of our day melt away as I enjoyed the warmth and scent of him fresh from his bath. He was just over four when we moved to the mountains and spent most of a year and a half away. We were home on many weekends so he was a frequent visitor from early Saturday morning till we loaded backpacks and headed back to the hills on Sunday afternoon.

We stayed home for awhile but by the time we moved our RV to northeastern Colorado and then out to California Decklyn had well established routines without us. So I was delighted and surprised when he showed up for the second early morning this week. I closed the computer and cuddled up with his wild hair under my chin and read several of his old favorites before the day started. “I remember this one!! We used to read this almost every single night!” and as soon as one book was finished he would find another and we read and laughed and reminisced about the days when he couldn’t read some of those words himself. It was a magical moment as the memories flooded over both of us.

Before my early morning visitor I was going to tell you about my good neighbors. I was going to tell you about these solid little houses and the people who bought them back in the days when most people bought a house they could afford then spent a lifetime turning it into their dream home. I was going to explain my position as someone who grew up in the house next door and knows every single person who ever lived in this house before me. I was going to tell you about our unique relationships with the parents of my childhood friends and how it feels to show them respect by calling them Mr. and Mrs. just like I did when I played with their kids. I was going to tell you how sad I am that two of my old neighbors have passed away in the last few weeks and one has moved on to an assisted living facility. I see my childhood friends when they come to clean out their Dad’s house or attend their Father’s funeral or just drop by to help their Mom. It surprises me that I’ve known their parents as good neighbors for something like 50 years. It reminds me how much they all mean to me.

It has been a busy week and a stressful week. Lots of little things have piled up and I haven’t had much time to sort through the feelings the way I should. If I let them incubate and grow I’ll be sorry so I write to clear my head and clear my heart. I’ve been writing mystery stories for the grandsons for years and Decklyn reminded me that it’s time for another episode so I guess that will be my next project.

It’s too bad that the words won’t be enough to clean out the real germs that are incubating in my throat and my nose right now. The kids upstairs are both down with a nasty cold and if things come together the way they usually do I’ll be coughing soon. My early morning visitor was so affectionate this morning! The sicker his parents feel the more time he spends right here with me and this big boy who usually doesn’t have time to snuggle anymore is surprisingly happy to sit close. The germs don’t seem to mind that Decklyn usually gets the mildest version of the cold. And I guess I don’t really mind either if I can feel that big boy settled in under my arm, relaxed and comfortable just to read together the way we did when he was little. It doesn’t matter what I am incubating today, I can’t miss this opportunity to cuddle with this boy because I know I’m going to blink and he won’t be seven anymore.

Even though we have visited many National Parks, National Forests, National Grasslands and National Monuments here in the west I think Grand Teton National Park is my absolute favorite. Does anybody agree?

September 2006

September 2006

September 2006

September 2006

September 2006

May 2007

September 2006

I'm doing most of my "social networking" out here in the real world this week so I'll leave you with a few more pictures of my favorite season while I'm out there enjoying it with my loved ones at home. I hope you are getting out there to soak in some of the wonder of this colorful season in your own backyard. And if you can't get out I hope you are watching the Ken Burns series on PBS about the National Parks because it will take your breath away and remind you of what a beautiful country we live in. Happy Autumn!!

Fort Morgan, Colorado ~ November 2008

Estes Park, Colorado ~ Fall 2008

The Snowy Range, Laramie, Wyoming ~ October 2008

The Snowy Range above Centennial, Wyoming ~ October 2008

Leadville, Colorado ~ September 2007

Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive, Leadville, Colorado ~ September 2007

Twin Lakes, Colorado ~ August 2008

Laramie, Wyoming ~ October 2008

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming ~ September 2006

Circa 1970 with a very special "Brother"

26 September 2009 ~ laughing through some memories at home

I’ve been thinking about my brothers. They have been on my mind so much that I ran into one in my dreams the other night. This wasn’t a real blood brother but one of the many brothers that I’ve been collecting since I was a little girl and since I haven’t talked to him in a year I wondered what he’s up to today. My parents gave me three perfectly good brothers of my own but somewhere along the road I knew they weren’t enough so I started another family of my own. My real brothers were all younger so it doesn’t surprise me that my adopted brothers were all my peers or older than me. Maybe it was just this unspoken need for a BIG brother and all the things he could teach me.

I never made lots of long lasting friendships with the girls in my life. My shy nature and my weird way of looking at things usually separated me from the talkative girls in school. I wasn’t really a tomboy but I figured out early that I had more fun and could communicate more clearly with the boys. They were easy to talk to even if the earliest conversations were punctuated with burps and silly accents and imaginative play. Boys made me laugh. They must have appreciated the giggles because the boys would always let me hang around even when it wasn’t yet cool to be seen with a girl.

By the time I was in high school some of the relationships had deepened into something different. I hung around with a lot of boys who had been in my classes since grade school. We had all gone through the crushes and broken hearted angst of junior high when the girls were getting preoccupied with the opposite sex and the boys were still a little confused about the whole deal. Some of my adopted brothers had even asked me out a time or two and when we realized that we had lots more fun just hanging out with the whole gang we gave it up. When we took the male/female thing out of the equation we discovered that we could really enjoy the deep, solid friendships. It was, and is still, a wonderful thing.

My brothers taught me so much over the years. When we were kids they taught me that boys are so completely different than girls and that is perfectly okay. They taught me that it was okay to be my giggly self and that I didn’t need to lose that childlike sense of play just because I had to grow up. When we were teens they taught me different lessons. They helped me learn the difference between a subservient female and a radical feminist and helped me find my own space somewhere in the middle. I got a glimpse of things from a male perspective and I learned to be more careful with my words and actions in the presence of men.

My brothers taught me that under the goofy actions and risky behavior there was an honorable young man trying to break out of childhood. They were loyal friends and stepped up to protect me from people who weren’t good for me. They held my hand through broken hearts and were kind enough to never say, “I told you so”. My brothers let me talk and they listened with an open heart. They let me return the favors. I felt cherished and protected. I knew I was loved just because I was me.

And then it hit me! I suddenly realized why my longest lasting friendships, the people who have played such important parts in my life, have been my brothers. I think I got all these extra brothers so that this mother of girls wouldn’t panic when my daughters started giving me one grandson after another grandson after another. I think I created my own band of beautiful brothers in expectation of the day when I would use everything they taught me about boys just being boys.

My brothers taught me to treasure the male mind in all its quirks. They taught me that anger might be their default emotion but I could discover the real underlying feeling if I listened and watched closely. I use those skills on a daily basis. I learned to participate in the conversation while a seven year old figures out a way that we can pool our resources and buy a dragon and then how we can train him together. I can sense the budding mechanical genius in the guy who visualizes things so much like his Granddad. And I can hold my breath while I watch a four year old attempt to boost his two year old brother onto a surface five feet in the air.

My brothers taught me that a little boy is born with a head full of magic and a heart full of courage and the lucky ones escape childhood with both intact. My brothers taught me the perils and pleasures of growing to be an honorable man without losing that sense of childlike wonder and fun. They taught me that mistakes don’t have to be permanent. They taught me so many things that paved the way for a marriage to my best friend and how to love five little boys in all their room filling, exuberant glory.

I still have brothers that weren’t born into my family. I love every one. And now that I know why I’ve been collecting them for all these years it doesn’t change the fact that I owe them a lot. I am grateful for every lesson and I’m eager to learn more but most of all I hope they know how much they have meant to me, how much they will always mean. And whether they are brothers or grandsons, those boys still know how to make me laugh!