Visiting some favorite peeps

I just returned from Oregon where I visited some of my favorite people. I got a chance to spend the day with Stacy and she took me to all sorts of great places in Portland-neat neighborhoods and markets. She and her hubby TJ have a phenomenal veggie garden and we had dinner of fish, fresh kale, cous cous and fresh strawberry shortcake. They have a white fluffy dog named Totem and they spoil her rotten.

I spent a few days in McMinnville with my favorite Frank and MM. Theirs was my most favorite hotel (smile). The minute I walk into their home I feel right at home. I don't know if it is because all the windows show a backyard that looks like a forest and I could drink tea watching a deer graze the grass; or that all the beautiful throw rugs compliment the rest of the house; or that the comfort and love in their home is waiting for me at the front door. Whatever it is the cost per night is priceless and the experience so divine.

Wine country is such lush and lovely country. Amongst the vineyards is one of my favorite places called Red Ridge Farms (http://www.redridgefarms.com) where it is a plant nursery, gift shop, olive oil maker and event destination. The view from this farm is delightful as is everything surrounding it...including all the lavender there!



All in all the trip was relaxing and I enjoyed the vibe of Portland and the calming of looking past the ocean into...nothingness. I was ready, nonetheless, to come home. I saw a dog at Cannon Beach rolling and romping in the sand and while I often lament about the boys I was ready to kiss their sweet mugs. I was ready to stop living out of a suitcase. I was ready to wash my own towels and make eggs and bacon for breakfast. Yes...traveling is a wonderful thing...but so is realizing how much home means to me.

The Butterfly

The butterfly has always had meaning and significance to me. The caterpillar turning into a butterfly may seem like quite a simple metaphor about change; however, the complexity of the process from caterpillar to butterfly is understated. A caterpillar is a hairy little creature that has many legs and antennas and such and it slinks around, trying to find the perfect tree or leaf to attach itself to in order to spin itself into this beautiful, colorful graceful creature. And then, after it becomes this colorful, graceful creature it flits and floats around, enjoying the scents of Butterfly Bushes and Daisies and Roses and lives a short life and dies. I have never seen a butterfly die, like I have when I see a moth with wet wings struggling. I have never seen the remains of a butterfly or even a cocoon for that matter. Butterflies are like enigmas-they show up when they should and disappear when they are ready to. They live in the moment and then-whoosh-they are gone.

My butterfly showed up today.

I came home after a particularly annoying outing with Chester and Stanley. The goal was Nederland at a park by the lake where I could eat my picnic lunch and the dogs could run, sniff and swim. Well...Boulder Canyon was closed to my annoyance after being in the car with Chester whining and Stan looking uber uncomfortable. Coming back, we stopped along Boulder Creek to picnic and walk but the picnic was short and the walk really annoying-Chester would have liked nothing more than to have jumped into the creek. I knew it was time for all of us to get back in the car and come home. So home we came. And I started working on the yard, knowing that I won't touch it for 10 days while I am gone. The house will be well guarded with Uncle Bob and the yard will be watered by my loving neighbor, but I felt it needed that extra love prior to a trip.

I saw her early in the afternoon. She flitted around as I mowed my little back grass patch. I recently had two Butterfly Bushes planted so I thought..."Great! She got the message!"

Well...an hour later she was still around. And she hung out by me. I was sweeping and just doing yard work and this butterfly kept flying around me. Finally she landed on a leaf that was close to me and sat there for several minutes. I got close and started to talk to her. No kidding...she moved around so she would face me as I chatted to myself in the garden. I was, though, talking to her. I told her how much she has always meant to me. I told her how beautiful she was. I then gasped at yet another connection this butterfly made to my life.

"The women."

The women in this sense are the ones Lorrie and I work with every Sunday. Lorrie recently just brought a book for graphic designers about butterflies so we could paint/draw/stamp them. The designs of butterflies in the book are breathtaking; the women who draw them can't believe they are looking at this beauty. However...these women with whom I am with every Sunday are my butterflies. They have relationship issues. Health problems. Financial woes. But the beauty in each and every one of them speaks so loudly that these cocoons or shells of who they were could be shed, easily, for the beauty of something more.

And then I thought...is this butterfly for me? Is it Mike? Is it my own empowering angel helping me to recognize my beauty in order to move forward? She stayed for a while. I hunched down as her wings came together. She sat there as I told her how amazing and wonderful she was. I realized after she flitted away that maybe it was me I was talking to.

Week Two

Don't worry...I am not going to write week by week updates on my time off. I think the first two weeks though are significant because that is what people often get for vacation. I have been feeling just like that...like I have been on vacation and I have to go back to work on Monday. I think the feeling of relaxation will start setting in this next week and as I get ready for my Oregon trip.

This week the landscapers came. Here are pictures from the yard as they were working:





They were done in two days and created this lovely yard:




I am looking forward to the summer where I can sit back there, read, eat breakfast, and enjoy the beauty!

Week One

My first week off has come and gone. It went by very quickly. This was supposed to be the week the landscapers were coming to do the backyard. They had to postpone until next week. This threw me off a bit because this was the week I was supposed to sit around! Now I have to sit around next week to be home while they do the work. Oh well, I have no room to complain!

It turned out to be a rather busy week. I had two Cycling for Change meetings and after both of them a number of action items to complete. I completed a Facebook page, composed an invitation, picked up t-shirts, made phone calls, etc. Although I moaned and groaned about it a bit, it felt good to be productive and working toward something very important. Check out the website to see where the cyclists are now! www.cyclingforchange.org

I did indulge in a scrumptious dinner at Le Central http://www.lecentral.com/ with my dear friend Jeannie. We had a long dinner with an appetizer, main course and dessert. Jeannie is one of those inspiring souls that I can't get enough of! I also took the boys to Chatfield for a long walk, and last night Lorrie and I hit the Santa Fe arts district for the artwalk. She and I gathered many ideas to develop our plan for the art program we are doing. We barely looked at the art; rather, we conceptualized a lot of different ideas and talked at length about our plan.

This week, being at home, I plan to tackle the basement and shed. I am planning to make the shed half gardening shed and half tile mosaic studio. In the basement I plan to clean out a bunch of stuff. My neighbors are having a garage sale next Saturday so I am going to join in-I have a bunch of stuff to sell (so come on by!!). All in all it was a good first week, and while I felt like I was just on vacation, I know that this opportunity this summer will be pretty amazing!

Purpose and Inspiration

I was told today that I inspired someone.

There is one of the cutest families that live down my block. The little girl is about 3 years old and the boy is about 1 years old. The wife works at home part time and cares for the kids; the husband works in the finance industry. He's had it tough for sure with this past year and the struggles his industry has been facing. I told them a few weeks ago that I quit my job to just enjoy life for a while. Today, while walking the dogs, I see him and the family outside. It is around 4:30 in the afternoon. The wife told me that I inspired her husband to just...take time off. So he took the week. No vacation plans, no obligations-a little golf, some family time, and I saw him sipping a glass of wine. He looked relaxed and ready to enjoy his week. I felt on cloud 9 because I am so glad to know that my decision is one that makes people think twice about their own situations. I think, all too often, we get stuck in what we are "supposed" to do, but whatever that means is based on other people's definitions, not necessarily our own. So, to know I inspired at least one person was pretty meaningful today.

I had a good day. I got up around 7am, walked the dogs and then went to the park for my hour walk. I did a little cleaning and prepared lunch for 5 members of the Cycling for Change committee who came over for a meeting. We met for about 4 hours, and I didn't feel constrained by time. I pretty much took the perspective that it took as long as it took. I have a number of action items to complete before our next meeting, but I think we were productive enough. It felt good to do something with a purpose today, and that is probably how my time off will be: a little alone time, a little time with the dogs, some time with friends, and then working on something with a purpose. I am just so excited to see how this summer unfolds!

Starting to say goodbye

Well, today was my last day at the Regis Lowell campus. The rest of the week I will be at the DTC campus. I packed up my books and said my goodbyes. It didn't feel too final-after all, I will be teaching this summer. However, this is the closing of one journey and the beginning of another. I remember when I got the advising job. I had worked so hard at getting the advising job-I even bought a suit for my interviews. I got my own office and a pay raise; Mike sent me flowers my first week for my office. So much has happened in the years I was an advisor at Regis. I got a graduate certificate in adult learning; I started teaching. Mike and I went on great trips. And we faced the biggest challenge of our lives. I think it is appropriate that I am closing this chapter and starting something new. I don't know what it will look like. People keep asking me the first thing I will do when I wake up and don't have to go to work. I don't know yet...I have deliberately not planned much so I can start changing my routine. I do know I like to wake up at 7am. I do know I like to run/walk in the morning. I do know the boys are going to start getting more attention. But other than that...I will start creating my new path as I go. I look forward to writing about this journey.

Coming together

A really cool thing is happening across the United States over the summer. Father Matt Ruhl, a Jesuit priest from Kansas City, will be cycling across the United States to bring awareness to issues of poverty. Catholic Charities will be the recipients of funds being raised in Colorado, as well as the Samaritan House in Denver and the Stout Street Clinic.

My friend Mary is the head of the volunteer committee and I have been to two meetings. At first I was going to just be a volunteer one day, but I found myelf offering my time to help coordinate a pancake breakfast and a wine and cheese reception. I am really excited about this opportunity to be a part of something really cool and big! Now that I will have time on my hands this is definitely something I want to spend my time doing. I will be creating a Cycling for Change (C4C) Denver Facebook page and will post that link soon. If you want more information about his journey, visit www.cyclingforchange.org.

There will be about 15 cyclists in the group that will cycle across the US, and others are invited to join the cylclists for various parts of the route. They will be coming through Denver July 6th and 7th and the committee is planning a talk by Father Ruhl, a wine and cheese reception and a pancake breakfast at the Samaritan House. It will be a great two days and our hope is to bring long term awareness of poverty.

This fits nicely with what Lorrie and I are doing with the homeless women. We may make some connections from this as well. So, stay tuned as this comes together!