She's Back

Our last two and a half weeks without Mom went by fast. Layne and I flew into Denver on Thursday morning. We landed in the middle of a snow storm! October, and snow everywhere. We admired it for awhile (well...I did; Layne doesn't care much for snow), until we discovered that the flight we hoped for into Grand Junction was canceled. Not only that flight but all following through the afternoon. We didn't have a chance of getting into Grand Junction that day.

So I talked Layne into renting a car and driving from Denver to Cedaredge. He was exhausted from several nights with little sleep so he was very easy to influence. We rented a four wheel drive SUV and headed out. We drove through the Rockies and on into Grand Junction and then Cedaredge. It took us about 5 hours. I loved the drive! Everywhere we looked it was beautiful. I believe I have done that drive before, when very young, but it felt like a new thing for me this time. Of course I was the passenger and thus able to take in the sights with my full attention. God has truly blessed this land.

We arrived at Mom's house just after dark to find all well there, thanks to our friends the Palmers. Sister Maryanne left earlier in the day for home and the Palmers were staying with Mom until our arrival. It was all very rushed, but still pleasant. It was cold in Colorado! Winter had definitely arrived there. The next morning, Friday, we hurriedly packed up Mom's stuff, filling her car to the brim, and took off. Layne drove the rental care to the Grand Junction airport while I loaded Mom and picked up our friend, Elaine Conlan, who was coming with us for a visit to California. We picked up Layne at the airport and our drive to California began.

We drove 9 hours our first day. We made lots of potty stops but Mom held herself in check until we reached our motel in Elko, Nevada. What a woman. I couldn't have done that under any circumstances. But she repeated her performance the next day. We arrived home by 6 PM on Halloween. It was still light! It was a fun trip, full of all sorts of conversation, thanks to Elaine, a cute, red-headed talker. As we moved along I could not help but think of how difficult such a trip was a few generations ago. I'm so thankful to be able to move through space in sweet comfort, with all sorts of snacks and good company. Life is so sweet.