Daily Archives: January 14, 2012

Family, Travel

Zoo Interreptus

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Winter                            First Moon of the New Year

Gabe, Jen, Kate and I settled into the Nissan rental for our trip to the zoo.  We headed down the boulevarded Martin Luther King to Colorado, took a left, south, and followed the signs to the zoo, not far away, especially not far away compared to the zoo…

This entry was cut short by the call from Jen to go pick up Jon.  The zoo faded into the afternoon as Jen and I drove out Hwy 70 into the Rocky Mountains, crossed Loveland Pass and dropped down its far side to the Arapahoe Ski Area or A-Basin as skiers here call it.

The clouds had an unreal rose and gold tint and the mountains in front of them looked like a movie set.  We drove up Loveland Pass behind a gasoline tanker truck and descended in 2nd gear.

Denver traffic coming and going from the mountains during the snow months, especially on weekends, can resemble a good-old fashioned Chicago rush hour, but this particular evening the road had plenty of space.  Ruthie and I scooted home ahead of Jon and Jen.

On the way out I noticed several vehicles with Co-exist bumper stickers, a sure sign of paganism.  Made me feel good.

Kate says Jon’s head knock is a serious concussion, the kind that, if repeated, could result in brain trauma.  Nothing to play with.

Family, Travel

Family

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Winter                                      First Moon of the New Year

Got to drive into the mountains.  I hadn’t planned on it, but Jon fell today while skiing and bonked his head, didn’t feel good enough to drive home, so he called for support.  Jen and I drove out in the rental, then Jon and Jen drove back in their car and I brought Ruth home.

It had an oddly powerful effect on me, this drive.  It felt good to support family, very good, in a tangible hands on way.  Made me rethink our decision not to move out here.  A part of me wishes we could be here, be available for these kind of ordinary family incidents, a strong part.

The other part, the rooted emplaced part, says moving still makes no sense.  Selling the house in this market.  Leaving friends and health care providers behind.  Political connections.  The museums.  Our gardens, bees and the house we’ve adapted to our life.

These are difficult, no right answer dilemmas.  Wish we could be both places.  You know. They divide their life between Andover, Minnesota and the Rocky Mountains.  That sort of thing.  But, even though we have adequate funds for retirement, we don’t have enough to bi-locate.

I imagine we’ll stay where we are, not out of inertia, because it makes the most sense right now.

Family, Travel

Jon, Jen, Ruth and Gabe

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Winter                   First Moon of the New Year

Sunny and 54 here in Denver today.  Heading out to the zoo with grandson Gabe and daughter-in-law Jen.

Ruth and Jon drove into the mountains to A-basin at 5:30 this morning.  Ruth has an all day ski lesson while Jon will try to find runs not crowded with newbies.  Not much snow here so the existing runs have become clogged.

Jon moved out here ten years ago and has taken full advantage of the location.  He skis as often as he can, which means weekly at least in most cases.  He climbs mountains and skies down rugged terrain.

He’s no youngster, either, at 43. He’s stayed in good shape and manages his chronic illnesses with grace.  He has diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and addison’s disease.  Any one of these would give most folks an excuse to sit in the easy chair, but not Jon.

He’s an artist, a teacher, a father, an athlete and a home renovator. Pretty impressive.