I'm Three Years Old!

Annmarie, ShyShay, Guy and I on Pole Creek's #9 on the Ranch Course

    Today is my third birthday.  I’m three years old now (sort of).  It’s been three years to the day that I had my meningioma brain surgery and was granted a tumorless brain, a new start, and the ability to have another page turned to the next chapter of my life here on earth.  Happy birthday to me!  To celebrate, I was given a fabulous gift that has no price, a precious gift many people wish for and many other people take for granted: time with my family.
    We are at Grand Lake again, our sixth adventure here at a place that has grown on us all as a special Swope family reunion spot.  We are staying at the most extravagant cabin home yet, a monster of a mansion (well, not really a mansion, but it’s spacious) with superb amenities and excellent cleanliness.  It’s a bit much for this humble servant/teacher, but I’m managing just fine, as is the rest of the family.
    Guy, Annmarie, ShyShay, Bev, Curt, Erica and Emily are taking...
the hike around the lake here at Monarch while Mom, Dad and I hang out near the entrance reading books and writing.  I sat and visited with Mom and Dad at a picnic table for the first half hour or so, but now I’m on my own sitting on the only bridge here, letting the thoughts flow out of my head.
    Leave it to my mother (who else?) to give me a birthday card this morning.  At first, I didn’t know what it was for, but the sudden recognition of the reason for the card “jump-sparked” my brain and caused me to gasp audibly.  My heart raced and my eyes filled with tears, so that revealed to me that this anniversary continues to be an important one.  Thank you Mom for thinking of me and for noticing and remembering the significance of the day.  I love you.  On a morning three years ago, she and Dad were driving across Colorado to get to the hospital in Farmington, arriving just in time to be able to greet me after it was all over. 
    This morning, we all (except Mom and Dad) rented a boat and enjoyed Grand Lake from...well, right on the lake.  The highlights were the wildlife, the storytelling, and one tiny mishap. 
    We saw a few fish, some osprey, many geese, a moose, a muskrat, a deer, and some pelicans.  We fed the geese some bread that Anmmarie had brought, James bravely feeding them right from his fingertips.  The one moose we saw was hidden so well that the only way we could notice it was when it moved.  The deer pranced along the edge of the lake in the water, and it even stopped to pose for Annmarie at a spot meant for framing.  Can’t wait to see that picture.  On the way back to the marina, we were escorted by pelicans, some flying alongside like observant secret service agents, some far less observant flying well overhead.
    ShyShay is into stories, so Curt, Guy, and I told as many stories as we could think of.  Curt shared his record-making fish catch from when he was nine years old.  I shared some teacher stories, my George Washington bike jump story, and the infamous “rock in the nose” story.  Guy let ShyShay know all about our cruel and terrifying neighbor from our childhood, Angie, and her not so cruel or terrifying husband, Al.
    The tiny mishap happened on our way over to Grand Lake.  Annmarie innocently walked up to the front of the boat to offer a snack to ShyShay, not realizing that she was upsetting the balance by doing so.  No big deal.  I thought the boat had stopped suddenly, because I saw the front end suddenly go underwater with gallons of water rushing over the bow.  I believe Guy did stop the boat promptly, though, and that caused even more water to come aboard.  Bev caught most of it on the left side of her pants and both of her feet.  All of us up front were hit, except for maybe Emily who just raised her feet up in the air.  My right foot got soaked.  After we saw the water draining out, we all laughed and joked about what had just happened.  I told ShyShay she now had her own story to tell.
    We are all back at the cabin now, and it’s time for dinner.  Tomorrow, Daryl and Katie will be joining us after coaching at a national volleyball tournament.  I’m out on the deck finishing this up, but I’ll be heading inside soon.  I’m off to enjoy this great gift: the precious gift of time with family.