Most days I enjoy living in Colorado. (Some days I still miss my family and the South a lot!) The scenery out here is unbelievable! When I drive across Dam Road every morning on my way to work, I am actually driving on top of an earthen dam that creates Cherry Creek Reservoir. The lake is to my left, with the sun rising behind it. In front of me are the snow covered Rocky Mountains. It is an awe-inspiring way to begin my day.
Last Winter I experienced (read that: survived!) my first blizzard. Don’t really have to see any more snow for the rest of my life. ‘Nuff said.
Last Spring and Summer, I enjoyed more sunshine than I knew one place could have. I also hiked (read that: crawled or was dragged by my husband who was trying not to laugh, gasping for air that wasn’t there!) up to an elevation of almost 11,000 feet in the gorgeous Rocky Mountain National Park. Along the path I saw breath-taking scenery from waterfalls to lakes to rock formations. Unbelievable!!! I could do that every summer weekend . . . except for the not being able to breathe part!
Last Fall, I saw for my first time golden aspens against a deep blue sky. What a contrast! What a sight!
We had a beautiful WHITE Christmas this year. And I went snow sledding for my first time that day. (I have to designate “snow sledding” . . because in the South we do other kinds of sledding. I remember my parents and my sister and me going “sledding” one Fall afternoon . . . downhill in a cardboard box on pine straw and leaves!)
But I’ve had a couple of ‘firsts’ here in Colorado that I could definitely have lived without!
Last Summer, the day before my birthday(!), I received my first traffic ticket. I got nailed in a speed trap on my way to a cookout at some friends’ home. It was my first ticket because God has been very gracious . . . not because I haven’t deserved LOTS of them throughout my life! But it still left a bitter taste in my mouth for the Castle Rock police department.
And last week (on Valentine’s Day!!!) I had my first car accident. Never mind that the road was a solid sheet of ice. And never mind that the snow plough had removed all the snow that would have given me some traction. And never mind that the salt/sand truck was too busy sanding/salting the other side of the road . . . the side leading OUT OF TOWN instead of the side everyone on their way to work was using that morning!!
Still . . . I thought I had learned how to drive out here in the Winter. Apparently not on an ice rink, though. Oh, well. Thankfully, the lady I ran into was not hurt. Her vehicle did not have a scratch on it. HOWEVER, her vehicle did have one of those square metal towing rods that juts up the middle of the back of her Jeep. And that is how I now have $1000 worth of damage to my paid-for, 8 year old, dear to my heart Honda Accord.
The worst damage was to my ego, though. But I think that’s healing a lot faster than my car’s going to be repaired.
