Laramie

 Took advantage of the three/nine day weekend (have the upcoming week off for Council things) to make a quick afternoon jaunt to Laramie. I haven’t been home to see mom and dad since last summer at the LHS reunion. There were some nice surprises, and some rather shocking changes. First the good: the tree that mom selected for their neighborhood is thriving and providing a perfect amount of shade. I stood for quite awhile and just wept. So many emotions. Talked to them both about my life, our family’s life, and some of the highlights of the past year. The Cubs pin that Uncle Steve left is still there, as is the seashell necklace. I left a few more rocks that dad had collected for mom. I also left one of my last campaign buttons, and a sticker for the first home UNC night game. Stopped at The Library for lunch, grabbed coffee at Coal Creek, then took a quick fly-by 1626 and 179. 

The not so good, is, well, whatever the hell has happened to 179. Are they colorblind? And the hedge that dad worked so hard on is not being taken care of. Change is hard.