Barbara Beyer Albright

Brooke is in my mudroom peering through binoculars at the 8 fox pups who are sleeping under our shed and playing in the yard.  Foxes have made their den there for years now.   On this afternoon they’re climbing and jumping all around and on their mother while father is out hunting for food to feed them all.

Brooke is my granddaughter and this child is a delight.    She’s her very own person.  Not too girly.  Loves every animal and can tell you about most of their habitats, life spans, preferences, family styles, living quarters, etc.  She has a pretty impressive knowledge of everything that swims in the sea as well.

She just started 4th grade and I decided to take her shopping for something she’d like.  She surprised me by choosing pink and green Pumas.   So, I thought, why not see if she’d like a pedicure?  I learned she’d never had one. 

She was all for it.

Let the Pedi begin!

Look at Quin go...

She very soon charmed the socks off Quin, who offered to paint her fingers for free. 

So she ended up with fingernails that the women in the salon oohed and aaahed over, and I’m pretty sure she was the envy of the other 4th grade classmates the next day at Acres Green Elementary School.

a Burberry plaid delight

Riding into Cripple Creek

First of all, thank you, thank you to all our active duty military (my son included) and those who have served (my husband and my father included).  You protect and have protected the freedoms we enjoy every day.

Yesterday I rode with my husband and our neighbor, Jim, who served in the USNavy in Vietnam, and thousands of others in a Veteran’s Ride from Woodland Park to Cripple Creek, Colorado. 

What an experience!  It was about a 20 mile run, starting at 10:30.

Me, Skip and Jim

There were thousands of other bikers and it was a beautiful day.  We were all there to pay tribute to those who have served our country, and those who are still missing in action and/or prisoners of war.

Just starting out

 We were cheered on at the start, able to run through all intersections as police and military stopped traffic along the route.  I was thinking it must be something to see from the air – miles of bikes.  I mean they were as far as I could see in front of us and as far as I could see behind us.

Almost there

We had a great time.  As a mother whose son is about to deploy to Afghanistan it was very moving.  Once we got there, it was awesome to ride under an American flag that was hanging over the street, suspended from two extended ladders of two fire trucks. 

Now that's a flag!

We parked, walked around, ate lunch, shopped, sat in the shade and enjoyed ice cream, looked at all the bikes, cried (I did a couple times during a poignant tribute), and then rode back home by ourselves. 

I’d never done something like that and it was an unforgetable experience. 

So many bikes and so much leather!!

 I’ve also never done something so brave as to leave my home and fight for my country or work to defend my country in a foreign land.  

So thank you to my husband, my son and my father for your service and courage. 

You are heroes!

I feel like a kid who has been away all summer, standing before my class with my report. 

A spot in the sun

I started the summer with my oldest daughter’s wedding (simple and beautiful).

A couple weeks later I had surgery, which was followed by an unexpected lengthy recovery.  I relished mornings at this little green bistro set on one of our patios.  The sunshine and morning breezes were therapeutic.

We, and when I say we, I mostly mean my husband, moved our office to our home.  That took about a month to complete and I struggled with not being able to help.  He struggled with keeping his back in alignment.

Children and parents visited in July.  Our son, Matthew,  is leaving for Afghanistan later this month so everyone wanted to hug him and laugh with him and relax in simple summertime pleasures.  

Can you guess which one is the airman deploying?

So now it’s August and I’m up and around again.  We’re settled in our house again.  Kids and parents are back home again – home to North Carolina, California, Arizona, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Virginia.  I love to have them and I hate to have them go.

Having them go…. that reminds me of one other significant thing that happened this summer.  My son Jeff’s sweet dog, Ursa, died.  He was devastated.  We had a good conversation about death though and how it’s one of the risks in loving someone – that one day they can be gone.   Jeff said, “If they didn’t bring so much joy, you wouldn’t miss them so much when they’re gone.”  He’s right.  Is it worth the risk?  I vote, and he votes, yes.

Because love? Love is at the very center of our being.  It’s all that matters in the end and what matters on the journey.

So summer vacation is winding down.  It hasn’t been a vacation here – more of a staycation.   Highs and lows with not much in between.  

And me? I’m glad to be back.