Memorial Day Picnic

Let me start by saying that these 3 day weekends have been throwing me for a loop. I've been trying to post M, W, F at least, and then if something fun happens in addition to those three days then so be it, but when Jeff has Monday off work I spend the day thinking it's Sunday, and then when Tuesday rolls around and he goes back to work I spend all day (like I did today) thinking it's Monday. But it's NOT Monday, it's Tuesday and now my blog posts are all out of whack! Sheesh! ;)


Memorial Day was a beautiful day with temperatures in the low 70s and no real wind or clouds to speak of. It was nice having Jeff and my mom off of work so we could all spend the day together. We had decided earlier in the week to have a picnic along side the Poudre River, but we weren't really sure which turn out we wanted to stop at. Jeff drove since he knows the mountain-side better than I or my mom do, and with the assistance of the best passenger seat (my mom) and backseat (me!) drivers you could hope to be in the same car with, we found the PERFECT little picnic area! (After about 6 U-Turns and sharp rights when my mom or I would holler - "What about in there?!" I was thankful for his patience that day!!)

The picnic table was on a level area of ground, but with the chairs my mom brought from home set up it felt more like sitting in a living room than an off-road picnic area. Instead of plush recliners we sat in folding beach chairs, and instead of watching a show on the television we were watching the river flow past us. It carried whitewater kayakers and rafters down stream, it had families fishing on it's banks to the right and left of us, Bean tossed stones into the river for almost 4 hours straight. First with her Daddy, then with her Gramma. She chased butterflies and squealed when one flew in her general direction. Wildflowers bloomed in every corner of our living room, and different species of bird called to their mates overhead. It was glorious!

The constant noise of nature made it easy to relax. In truth, we didn't talk much while we were up there. I can only speak for myself, but I did a lot of reflecting. On Memorial Day and what it means. Naturally my mind went to military families and then it wandered to my Grandpa. I missed him a lot while we were up there, but I wasn't sad. Just wished I could talk to him. I reflected on my family while watching Jeff with Bean. I am so lucky to have them. I reflected on my relationship with my mom. I love having this new relationship with her as my daughter's Gramma. She reminds me a lot of my grandma. Every once in a while she'll do or say something and I swear I hear/see my grandma in her place. It makes me happy to think that through my mother her mother will live on.

It was a really great Memorial Day picnic.