Return to Reality

The mystery tours have ended and it is a happy/sad return to real life with real dirty jobs. So instead of spending my Saturday scuba diving with Don, visiting historic Boston with Celeste, biking with Bryce, listening to Tiana, or hiking around Breckenridge with Danica I donned rubber gloves and was applying chlorine cleanser to my shower in Highlands Ranch. Windex on the mirrors and Soft Scrub on the sink – this is just too much reality. So I took my frustration out on the weeds in the backyard. After an hour or so out in the fresh air, under a perfect blue sky, with the sun in my face I could take joy in the common labors required in life. There must be opposition in all things; by cleaning the toilet I value spending time with kids and grandkids more intently. It has been a great summer.

I can’t claim that the weekend was total drudgery. Mom and I took off late afternoon Saturday with our new bikes and we rode from Kohl’s all the way up to the bluffs behind McArthur Ranch. It was a great ride and I was actually able to peddle all the way to the top without stopping. I was determined not to get off and walk. We were rewarded at the summit with an incredible view all the way from Pike’s Peak on the south to Mt. Evans in the north, just at the right time for that magnificent orange sky that prevails over the Rockies. The 3-D layered mountains with varying shades of deep blue provided the jagged foundation for a breathtaking sight. I say breathtaking sight because it was hard work to reach the top and we both were panting for a while. Mom and I reacted differently to sitting at the top; I was thinking, “the ride down is going to be a blast” and mom was thinking, “I want to build a house right here to catch the view”.

We returned to our home ward for the first time in over a month and the bishop had to re-introduce himself to us. Now things seem back to normal and life can continue.