For Thanksgiving 2018 Cheri and I took a little road trip to Denver, Colorado. My/our youngest daughter, Valerie, and her husband, Matt, moved from Dallas to Denver last year. They have a nice house and a nice life. My/our other Harper daughter, Jessica, flew in from Idaho. She has a nice house and a nice life in Idaho, but more on that below.
Our road trip to Denver took us from the San Joaquin Valley of California to Lake Tahoe, over the I-80 to Reno, across Nevada and Utah to Salt Lake City, and partway to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Snowstorms closed the I-80 and we had to backtrack and take a different route. We ended up forging our way on a snowy and icy two-lane road (Wyoming 430) wending through some of the loneliest parts of Southern Wyoming south of Rock Springs. Cheri's all-wheel drive car was up to the task, but I could imagine sliding off the road, being buried by snow, and not being found until some cattle rancher found us at the spring thaw. At the border of Wyoming and Colorado, the road became a dirt road (Colorado 10 North) wending through some of the loneliest territory in Northwest Colorado. We made it back to civilization and on down to Denver. Along the way we saw some really beautiful country we did not expect to see, and would never have seen but for an unexpected road closure.
Including Cheri's three kids (and their families), our blended family now boasts five "kids" in five different states -- Pennsylvania, Indiana, Colorado, Idaho and California. We both love all five of our 30-something kids and their families and are glad to have them all in our lives. The circumstances that brought Cheri and I together and blended our families was something like the road closure on I-80. The way we planned to go was blocked, and a new way had to be found. The paths of our lives are not what we intended, but we have experienced unexpected beauty along our new paths.
Some of our friends have all of their family surrounding them within a short distance. They needn't plan so carefully or spend so much time or money to get together, so they see each other often. This is how it was with my parents and siblings for a number of years, and I imagined it would be this way for my family, as well. Perhaps it would be this way if Sue hadn't died from complications of cancer in 2010. Perhaps not. The last book Sue read was by Maya Angelou, and I love the Maya Angelou quote on the page I found marked: If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.
Five kids in five states is an opportunity. We also love the beauty and diversity of the lands of these great United States, and having five kids in five states gives us more opportunity to see more of what's out there. Denver and Boulder boast some of the finest scenic mountain environs, and while we were out there visiting we got out and reveled in some of the beauty.
Sue has a cousin, Chris, who lives in Denver not too far from where Valerie and Matt settled. Both of my daughters, Valerie and Jessica, have enjoyed getting to know their 2nd cousin, Chris. Chris had a road-closure-life-detour experience himself recently when his wife also passed from cancer. Chris is a gem of a nice guy and a long-time professional chef. He, along with his good friend, Madeline, cooked Thanksgiving dinner, and Madeline hosted us at her beautiful house. King Solomon, in all his glory, never "ate so good!" (Cheri made three awesome pies to close the evening.) Madeline is a gracious and accomplished person, ironically an oncologist, and it was a pleasure to meet her. We enjoyed several fun outings with Chris and Madeline while we were in Denver.
Speaking of road closures and detours in life, in the summer of 2018 Jessica's husband of 8 years decided he didn't want to be married anymore. This had the potential to be a crushingly lonely road for Jessica. However, since she couldn't change the way things were, she has changed her attitude beautifully. She has a good teaching job in Idaho with great co-workers, good friends in Idaho, a nice house in Idaho, and supportive family and friends scattered around the country. And a cute little dog named Rico. While it is not the path she planned, the detour will take her many beautiful places she never expected to go, and would not have gone had the road not been unexpectedly closed.
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Our journey home to California from Denver put us onto U.S. Route 50, a road Time Magazine described as "The Backbone of America." We were on the stretch of U.S.Route 50 running through Nevada, which is known as "The Loneliest Road In America." We stayed on Route 50 all the way to Carson City, Nevada, and then to Lake Tahoe. And, in places, like some unexpected and unwanted moments of our lives, it is a lonely road; but my goodness, it is beautiful.
