My brother, Geoff, and I returned from lunch in Boulder after 4PM, but had to stop by the post office and hardware store. WOW! Geoff, a burly mechanic in a full-sized pickup truck could barely open his truck’s door, and the wind practically ripped my passenger door out of my hands, almost slamming into the driver who had foolishly parked close to us, on the lee side. We all had to fight the wind to get into the post office. Talk about “taken aback!” The post-mistress was still there and told us the second power line had failed about an hour earlier. Uh-oh!
The hardware store was the only open business in town. THEY had a generator! It only powered the cash register, however. We were met at the door by the staff wearing headlamps and carrying flashlights! They led us into the dark recesses of the store to find the fluorescent lights we needed for Dad’s garage. It was rather a fun adventure (for Geoff and me).
FINALLY, we returned to Dad, about 4:30. He was still warmly ensconced on the sofa, surrounded by his nest of pillows. The power had been off the whole time. The temperature of the house had dropped 10 degrees. The power company had no idea when the electricity would be restored. Uh-oh—that meant a major problem for Dad. The man is always cold, even in his cozy home heated to 75F. When he gets chilled, his mental abilities are affected, tool
I resolved to take Dad to a hotel in Boulder for the night. (The wind was supposed to calm down by midnight.) Geoff could help me get Dad in the car. (Dad is stiff and deadweight nowadays. He’s shrinking and losing weight, but seems heavier and definitely harder to move.)
Meet Caryn, the lovely lady who took us in, fed and housed the temporarily homeless father & sister of her boyfriend. It would take someone who can laugh this infectiously to do such a big favor so graciously on the spur of a moment. Thanks again, Caryn!
Geoff phoned his longtime girlfriend, Caryn, who has two spare bedrooms. Bless her heart, she welcomed us with open arms and a hot dinner, pureed for Dad! I think I had a big overnight bag packed for the two of us within 20 minutes. We had to hurry because we were losing light already, and driving the canyons in the dark is too adventurous for me.
Geoff wrestled Dad into Dad’s old Subaru for me. This was Dad’s first expedition outside his house since his 87th birthday two months earlier! We followed Geoff to Caryn’s, just over an hour away, west of Denver. The light lasted up one side of the mountain and down the other, miraculously. We saw a particularly gorgeous sunset from the very beginning to the very end. For a third miracle, Geoff even led me on a low-stress route to Caryn’s, no small feat at “rush hour” outside Denver!
We had a lovely, tasty, relaxed HOT dinner. Bless Geoff and Caryn for the great glasses of wine, too!
Adventure and excitement–but stressful, too. We made it!
All’s well that ends well. Amen.