I 'Heart' You...

Heart formation...and then whoosh...it was gone...what a moment!!

Driving past the heart clouds thru the Garden of the Gods Park

Driving thru 320 MILLION year old rock formations...really??

Pikes Peak, w/ just a little snow, taken from 8000 feet in the air!

Coming down the mountain...

Arch way @ Woodland Park...amazing sculpture!!

Yesterday Atlas Van Lines delivered my portion of Mom's furniture, pictures, lamps and treasures from her apartment in New Jersey....or really from her life in New York (as she only lived in NJ for the past year). What a difference a month makes. From life to death, from West to East and back again a couple of times, from Summer to Autumn, all very significant and mark-ed changes. Thankfully, the movers were very nice guys, they came early enough where we still had the whole day. We have decided to visit the higher elevations, now that I have acclimated, and w/ the Fall foliage quickly making her appearance, we went to the city of Woodland Park, which is at 8000 feet in elevation. We drove through Garden of the Gods Park, and as I was snapping away, I looked up and there it was, a cloud formation in the shape of a heart! Well, glory be, how perfect, as was the rest of the day. Although I did get a bit light headed, I was closer to Pikes Peak than ever before. The pictures tell the story as our adventures in Colorado continue...

Ridiculous, Never-ending FUN!!!

Like pancakes....the smell of the mess hall in the morning...

Our version of synchronized swimming...

Oh, how I hate to get up in the morning...

In the 40's, Upper Campus...Mom all the way to the right, top row!!

Colored stripes were our awards which were stitched on to our camp shorts. These are mine and, no, I cannot still fit into these!!

We have a very active Camp Wall on Facebook where we continually have a ridiculous amount of fun. Those of you who went to camp, understand. It takes very little to get us going and our collective memories have been a wonder. I put together a Pinterest Board called 'Sleepaway Camp'. Mom was the Arts & Crafts counselor and Dad came up on weekends, almost every weekend, for 12 summers. Recently, going through Mom's old pictures, I found some treasures, which I posted on our lively camp wall. These are just a couple of the many sayings and pictures which we love to love.

'Let's drink a toast to all those happy summers, and then another one for those to come....there's nothing that can compare to all the fun we share, camp life is so grand that we will tresasue it eternally...'

Come Fly Away...

Yesterday, I flew back to Colorado from New Jersey after spending a week helping my brother, sister-in-law and my nieces pack up, distribute, move and ship everything in Mom's apartment. Needless to say it was a tough week and I was so happy to have the 4 hours in the air, with an amazing view the entire time of 'what lay beneath'. So, with camera in tow, ipod well tucked into my head, I was able to quietly make the transition back to the mountain.

Wordless Wednesday

Mom and Me

Mom. Joey and Me

Right before my 1st birthday, I had a lump removed from my left brow line. The scar is still there. From what I have been told, I was in the hospital for 4 days and when I came home guzzled down many bottles of milk. From that point on, and for many years well into my childhood, I was afraid to be w/out my Mom. Fast forward a few decades. Mom died on August 28th, peacefully. I am not sure when it happened exactly. Maybe in my early teens I found some independence. I traveled by myself when I was in 7th-9th grade, taking 2 buses, every Saturday morning to take art lessons on the Upper West Side.  Mom always said that it was around High School. We were very affectionate w/ one another. There was cuddling, hugging, walking down the street arm in arm, always. So, it was no different when I went to the hospital, and even though Mom was pretty disoriented, when I leaned in and put my cheek next to hers, she said 'More'. So, she got more. It was no different when she lay dying in the early hours of the morning of Tuesday, the 28th, that I curled up around her feet, and went to sleep. We spoke every day, for years upon years. Sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. Maybe one of us forgot something, or had a quick story or gossip to share. I am just a little over 1 week into her not being here, and I already know that it is just that. The phone calls. How much did I save @ the supermarket that day, the great sale she found @ Lord & Taylor, what she ate for dinner, what she wore that day, how she killed everyone that day when she played bridge, the latest post on Facebook from our camp wall, how I was tending to the garden, our big adventures here in Colorado, calming her fears about our being too close to the wildfires this past June. Even up until she became so sick w/ pneumonia a couple of weeks ago, we were on the phone one day for a half an hour, just talking. In my head, I know that Mom's dying is extra-ordinarily profound, and that I am just putting my little toe into this process of grieving. However, for right now, this moment, I seem to be okay.