On May 9 we had some time to kill before heading to Littleton to visit another good friend from 50+ years ago. We drove around Douglas County, through Parker, which has also grown tremendously. We tried to find the barbecue that Dad helped build but couldn't locate the old building/park.
We stopped at our old church outside Castle Rock. A huge addition has been added that functions as the current church as their parish outgrew this part and it's been turned into their gathering place for pancake breakfasts and the like. It's perfect with the huge windows behind where the altar used to be - looking out on the Rockies.
We drove out to Dad's old work place at Martin Marietta and made our way to Flo's beautiful home surrounded by massive red rocks. We were happily surprised that her daughter Beth joined us. Beth and I were friends and we reminisced about sleepovers and visits to our country home and playing kick the can in the street at her house together. We were treated to lunch by Flo and had a wonderful time catching up and reminiscing. I was heartbroken to have to leave so soon and didn't remember to take a photo together before we left. I am so grateful for the time we had then and the ability to catch up now. It was a wonderful reconnection.
Dad called Jack to ask if we could again visit his property to spread the rest of Mom's ashes. Dad couldn't sleep the night before and as hard as this call was, he had to make it. We were immediately and graciously granted permission. Though Jack and his wife were away at the time, he said to go anytime. He must have been on speaker phone, because Jack's wife got on the line and said that she'd heard such good things about us and our visit with Jack the previous day. She was sorry to have missed us. We talked about their upcoming visit to California and reiterated our invitation to let us know if they made it this far north.
No one was around when we went back to the old house and Dad spread the rest of Mom's ashes. As before, I allowed him the space for this sacred task and a chance to talk with Mom privately as he did so. Because the truck wasn't blocking my way, I was able to capture a photo of Dad looking at Pike's Peak where he laid Mom's ashes. She loved that view from her kitchen window.
I admit that I edited this photo to remove the powerlines. They didn't belong there.
We had dinner at a local spot in Castle Rock that advertised local organic and scratch made food. It was good and our server was awesome.
When we got back to the hotel, the first thing I did was turn on the desk lamp, and I turned it on every time we were in the room until we left. After spreading the balance of Mom's ashes that we'd brought to Colorado, the lamp functioned properly every day. Of course.
We were spent from a long and emotional day and slept well.
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