Colorado, here we come!

Tomorrow we leave for a week in Colorado. Paul and I will be joining Eric & Rusty plus Mom, Ron, Phyllis, Alec, Peter and Roxanne for a second memorial service for Grandma in Denver. I was really disappointed I couldn't make the first one in Portland last December due to my cast & crutches, plus 3 jobs. I am going to be playing selections from Phantom of the Opera because it was her favorite music ever.

We've decided to make a vacation of it and will be staying in a charming place in Estes Park called Idlewilde by the River for a few nights. We'll spend our 2nd wedding anniversary (8/17) in Denver at the posh Hotel Teatro and maybe see a show or have an elegant dinner. We won't be returing until the 18th, and I anticipate a total internet vacation the entire time, not a bad thing.

Here are my reflections on Grandma that I will be sharing during the service.

One of my earliest memories of Grandma was the Christmas I turned 5. I was in my ballerina phase, and I wanted a ballet tutu more than anything in the world. When I opened my present from Grandma, it was this wonderful creation she had made herself--a skirt made out of stiff pink tulle, decorated with an array of colorful poufs commonly used to scrub pots and pans. *holds pouf as visual aid* I gasped in my excitement, "It's a ballet dress!" She laughed her famous laugh and said,"Oh, no, it's a Silly Grandma!" I thought it was the most beautiful skirt ever.

We always lived far away from our grandparents and didn't get to see them very often, so a visit to their house was a Really Big Deal. Grandma would bend over backwards as a hostess, wanting to make sure we were comfortable, well fed and had enough to do. When Grandpa would sometimes get fussy or grumpy when we inevitably got on his nerves, she would say, "Oh, he's just being an old fuddy-duddy!"

I was kind of an uptight kid and she was always loosening me up. Even in my 30s she spent several years encouraging me to try margaritas, which I didn't like at all at first. Now it's my favorite drink ever, and I always think of her whenever I have one. She was very proud of "corrupting" me at last.

Peace to you, Grandma. My life is better because you were part of it.