2024 Wrap-Up

I feel like the last time I wrote was in August, and since then, not much has happened but I'll leave some updates and photos here! 

Talon has been playing hockey for what feels like non-stop. And that's okay because I enjoy team sports, which is where I tap in for Joe. If it doesn't have wheels and/or a motor in the sport, Joe couldn't be more uninterested. Between hockey travel and play, I've also been able to take Talon to some Avalanche games and that's been one of my new favorite times with him. He heckles each team while shoving ice cream or root beer down his throat and I do my best not to noticeably laugh at how adorable it is.

I'm craving the ocean and know I've retired that for my kid (it's wild what you WOULDN'T do for your kid). I'm heading home at the end of January  so looking forward to that, and teaching Talon how to surf. Mom is flying in from Chattanooga, TN and we are both craving the ocean, so we got a beach house in Sunset Cliffs area and I'm really looking forward to that. Morning and evening walks on the beach, salty hair and skin, and sharing my joys with my kid who is under some impression that I'm a WAY better surfer than I actually am or ever was. It's going to be disappointment for him when he sees me in action. I've also gained 30lb since surfing, so watching me get into my wetsuit will be entertainment enough for him. 

Joe is still my oldest child and what a good dad he's become. If you asked any of his friends prior to us dating what he thought of being a dad, he would look at them sideways. A couple even warned me, "you know he's not really the family type." But that was okay. The first guy I was serious with after Talon's dad was for me. The next guy was for Talon. Third time was a charm, and I struck gold with both. He is a kid himself, so the two of them are obnoxiously adorable and I love being the 3rd wheel. He's a good man, dad, husband, playmate, and he always keeps things interesting. 

We bought another boat this year, and I know that makes us sound super rich, but both boats combined are $4k and they bring invaluable time together as a family. We're on Lake Granby nearly every weekend in the summer. We love camping, but camping at 8,000 feet is cold even in the peak of summer. Having the cabin cruiser is AWESOME! Minus the first night when it flooded, it's been great! 

I don't think much else has happened. Mom's husband, Bill passed away in May from a quick pancreatic cancer and that was a big bummer. It allowed for me to fly out and help get her things in order and Talon flew out with Joe so we could drive Bill's truck home. It was a nice little road trip! We stopped in Arkansas and did some lake time in the Ozarks on Lake Ouachita, and that was really cool. We also drove through tornado damage which none of us had ever seen before. It happened the night before, 10 minutes from the town we were sleeping in. 

Norovirus is going around Grand County so of course it hit Talon on Christmas Eve. We were both up all night, me mostly rubbing his back and not able to sleep in fear he will throw up all over his bed (as he does). Just as I fell asleep at 6am, the kid woke up with bells on ready to party and open presents. With one eye open, I sat on the couch while Joe delivered me coffee, Christmas morning was over in 45 minutes, and I fell asleep on the couch for another hour. Joe and I thought for sure we would be stuck inside with a sick kid all day, but to our surprise, he wanted to ski! It was a white Christmas, so we all got our ugly sweater gear on, and enjoyed an AWESOME day. We lost Talon on the first run, but that's to be expected. He called me from a strangers phone and said, "Ma! I'm at the pano! Can I go up??" The Pano is the highest lift at Winter Park, and it didn't surprise me at all he would want to go without us. We made him wait for us, and didn't lose him again for the day. 

That was a lot of words, so here are some pics to follow up with it! 

Ugly Sweater Tournament CO Springs (T is #6)

T-shirt Christmas gift from one of my friends who is ALSO one of my employees

Love making my house look like a snow globe

Apple pie - off. Joe cheated and won (or Ollie can't do math)

loves me enough to watch hockey with me

view of Winter Park Resort from the end of my street in Fraser

early morning window view

attempt at a sourdough turkey! 

Clark up on the roof! 

sunset in my backyard - no filter! 

working on my scoring

I took this picture after waking up from a nap on the way home from a late night Avs game. This is on Berthoud pass and it never gets old. 

Talon and I at an Avs game. Probably the one I took a nap on the way home from :) 

Peter Griffin for Halloween

40 in Cali

Havasu with Stace and fam

Brett (4), Carter and Talon (9), Taylor (7)

Brett is the coolest kid I know

cabin cruisers

the white winged dove! 

6am Christmas morning after we'd been up all night - woof

wouldn't be Christmas without wearing Nonnie's sweater! 

Best buds for Christmas laps

Learning to contribute to keeping the house warm

The boat broke... I was very concerned

Santa's elves up late watching the best Christmas movie ever - Die Hard of course

Lake Ouachita, Arkansas

Christmas Card that I never sent out - oops 

The Worst Day Ever - Started with a Sunset, Ended with Lightning

 August 3-4, 2024 - Lake Granby, CO

Just the three of us: Me, Talon, and Joe went to the lake Saturday night, and camped at our usual spot.  Joe took Talon and his stepbrother wakeboarding, and I was on the beach solo, enjoying a sunset, setting up camp, and making dinner for the boys when they got back. They dropped off Archer at his camp, and the three of us sat in our chairs, eating dinner, and once that was done, Talon and Joe played washers until the sun went down and headlamps were on! It was one of those simple moments where we didn't need TV, music, social media, or anyone else but us. I sat and watched them and didn't realize how big the smile on my face was. 

I woke up Sunday to see Talon outside my tent, fishing by himself. I knew it was going to be a good day. Talon went around on his paddle board to spend the first part of the day with Archer and those boys, while Joe and I paddled around to different campsites to scope for when his mom, sister, nephew, and cousin are in town this week. We even stopped to be kids again and jump off jump rock! 

I paddled back around to see one of our friends and took the E-Foil out for a spin. This has become one of my new favorite hobbies on the lake. Since not being on the ocean anymore, I found sports similar to get my fix from and this is one of them. I can't afford my own, so I borrow friends' instead :) I don't have a recent photo of me but here is one a couple years ago when I first learned how to ride one. 

A few years ago, we were in Lake Powell. Talon was saying "this is the worst day ever..." Strayer, same friend who was on the beach with his E-Foils was there that year, and laughed because who can have a bad day in Powell? Since then, me, him, and Joe all say that when we're having a great time. As I was laying there in the sun, after I took the foil for a spin and was drinking a cold beer, I looked up at Strayer and said, "worst day ever." He said it back and I just laid there smiling because damn it was a good day! 

Joe and I decided to pack the boat and pick up the boy, and go cruise back into Columbine before the storm rolled through. As we did, we pulled over and drug a tree out that had been sticking out all summer waiting to ruin someone's day. Talon and I worked together to drag it over to shore and the thing must have been 30 feet long. 

We floated back into Columbine for an hour, then had a diving competition off the boat before heading back to camp to button up and leave for the day. I was sitting on the back of the boat, leaning up against the paddle board as my headrest and was smiling, watching an osprey overhead gliding through the trees. I was grinning ear to ear and I told my boys, "these are the best days of our lives." 

We got back to camp, and I jumped on the paddle board because I wasn't ready to end the perfect day. I paddled over to Harvey Island, which is a protected osprey nesting area. Before I got there, I looked back to find both Joe and Talon in competition to see who could get to me fastest. They were laughing, and it made me feel really content in those simple moments. 

We left, got home and ate the always requested favorite, pasta. After that, I rounded the boys up to go on a family walk. It was getting dark, and I could see storm clouds coming in, but we went for it anyway. There was a beautiful sunset, we walked the trail by our house, Joe jumped out from behind a tree and scared Talon so badly, I swear if he hadn't just peed on a rock two minutes before, he would have peed his pants. 

When we got back, it was full on raining and we all scrambled to cover the boat, laughing and working together. When lightning struck, Joe told Talon and I to go inside. Talon, like always was worried about "Joye" out there alone, so we stood under the porch and watched. He looked up at me and said "I had a really good day today mom." I laughed and said, "you mean the worst day ever?" He smiled and agreed. 

When I thought it couldn't get any better, I went in to the bathroom, came out to a pitch black house only to find Talon and Joe laying on the carpet, watching the lightning and listening to the storm outside. When they saw me come in, we all snuggled up on the couch and watched it together, counting down lightning strikes to thunder, while Joe fed T and I bites of his ice cream. 

Terrible quality but incredible memories being made. 

I hope you have the worst day ever, and can feel as light as this boy makes me feel. 

Giving Myself Grace

 

Northwest Passage Trail - Fraser, CO 

Talon is 9, and I'm working to give him more independence and responsibility. I decided to let him ride his bike alone to the Fraser Picnic in the Park to watch music with his friends. It's about half a mile away, and he's ridden there plenty of times both with me, and alone with a friend. 

I was grumpy and needed a bike ride myself. I thought about just riding him down there to make sure he got there safe, then going on my ride. Instead, I decided, "no, this is how he learns responsibility and independence. Let him go..." He was pretty surprised when I told him he could go by himself, but I had my neighbor down there looking for him upon arrival. I told him he would be fine alone, but feel better knowing he's got eyes on him once he arrives. I told him he needed to be home by 7:30. 

I went for a ride, got home about 7pm and kept thinking maybe I should just bike down there and get him. "no... independence..." About 7:10, I get a random phone number call and I was joking it was Talon probably calling from a friend's phone for a sleepover. Instead, he says, "mom no one is here. I don't think music is tonight. They don't have chairs setup and I want you to come pick me up please." My stomach dropped. Holy shit, he rode all the way to Winter Park. It's 5 miles, but when I thought of him crossing the highway by himself, my stomach dropped. 

I drove there and he ran to me and started crying. He said he was tired and thirsty, and when he asked his friend for some of his iced tea, his friend poured it on his head instead, and he asked someone for a phone to call his mom. He felt terrible, he was confused when I said "Fraser" because there is only one music in the park he could remember, and he forgot about the one by school, and he made a bad choice, and his friends were mean, and he wanted to please go home and take a shower because he was sticky. Please mom, I'm sorry. I asked how he got across the intersection at Wendy's. He said, "well, I did okay. I mean, I got honked at..." I wanted to throw up. 

I held it together and the only other time this happened to me... well the 2nd other time, was when he got bit by a dog. I just had to respond (not react) as my mom tells me. I didn't react to the dog bite until he was asleep in the car, and had his little 18 month old face stitched up and bloody; I balled my eyes out. So current day (yesterday), I held it together until after dinner, after his shower, after he asked if he could please go to bed because he was tired... I took a shower and I cried. I felt so guilty. What if he had been hit by a car? Why didn't I just ride to music with him? Why didn't I confirm and double confirm that he knew exactly where he was going? So I cried, and I wanted to call my mom but she was on east coast time, and I didn't want to wake her. 

Today, I called her and said, "Mom, I wanted to call you. I messed up, I'm a terrible mom." I told her the story after she insisted I call her at anytime at night when I need her. She said, "Bec. That story proves you're a wonderful mom. Yes, you both learned a valuable lesson, but he MADE IT. He got there safely, he asked someone to borrow their phone to call his mom, who's number he knows and has known since he was 2 years old. Honey, he wouldn't have made it if you weren't his mama."

I find it easy to give others grace. Why it is so damn hard to give myself grace? She was right. I am a good mom. I mess up, but my kid made it. I gave him independence, he learned, he struggled, and he is stronger for it. I won't be here forever to pick him up when he calls. I turned my day around today after calling her, and needing to hear that. Instead of apologizing to him today, I'm going to tell him I'm proud of him. I'm proud of him for going all 5 miles by himself, and not panicking when someone honked at him, for asking someone for a drink, for asking for a phone, and for making the right call. He did exactly what he was supposed to do and I'm proud. I'm a proud mom, and he should be proud too. 

Mom and Talon, Chattanooga TN