Fall is in the air

sort of. The past week have seen some cooler days and even cooler nights. It's nice not to be overheated and sweating while I'm trying to sleep. I guess it's going to be 90+ degrees this weekend so the respite is short. But fall is in my future and I am quite excited by it. It's a beautiful season in Colorado, mild days with no or hardly any wind (you hear that Great Falls?). We need to get up to Rocky Mountain National Park at the right time to see the changing aspens and herds of elk.

Speaking of the elk in the park, I don't know if I ever mentioned the lady that I have been volunteering with for the past year and a half. I arranged it originally for school, but have kept seeing her beyond. We used to go up to Estes Park every week and elk search. She absolutely loved the elk. It was the highlight of her week. When we started, she was still living on her own, but by last summer she had to move into the nursing home. Our trips became less frequent. When Bennett was born, my visits with her became strictly at the nursing home. She has continued to decline and is now on hospice. When Bennett and I visited today she looked rough. I don't think she will last much longer. She was a neat lady and I will miss seeing her. Her outlook on life was a bit crazy at times, but definitely shaped by her life experiences. She seemed comfortable and had family at her side...I'm not sure if one can ask for much more at end-of-life. She is 89. Goodbye to Eula if I don't see you again!

On to less depressing topics. We finally had most of the trees removed from our backyard last week. Someone had planted a huge number of trees all along the fence line about 20 years ago. Then they trimmed them like crazy and they grew straight up and very very skinny. In fact, some of the branches hung precariously into the backyard and threatened to knock me on the head when I was out there. There were 14 to start with I think and we have 5 left. It looks very bare right now but Bernie assures me that they will fill out.

Here's a grown-up bit of news. We got life insurance started for myself and Bennett this week. Bernie already has some. I just got done with the exam. The nurse came to the house, took my BP (104/70 and 102/72.....AWESOME!), made me pee in a cup, and took some blood. Hopefully everything comes back well and I get the super good rating.

I finally made it up to three miles jogging on the treadmill recently. Getting back into running has been tough, but it is starting to feel good now that I can see some improvement in my endurance. Stroller Strides classes (don't laugh, they are a serious workout that I can feel for days sometimes) are helping as well. My weight has definitely bounced back up since I quit pumping, so I need all the exercise I can get. I'm considering (only considering at this point) a 10K in November. I have never ran that far...4 miles is my previous max.

Bennett has been a crabby man for the past few days. It looks like we will see some teeth soon! His 9 month appointment is Monday so I will update with his latest stats then.