Crazy, Colorful Colorado - Snow Day!

Ever since I left North Carolina back in 1997, I’ve been dreaming about the snow days of my childhood! It was similar in DC - it didn’t snow or sleet often, but when it did, schools were likely to close; but I found out that work went on for the most part or you had to take a personal day if you took a “snow day” off. It was even worse in Chicago and Cleveland. Those people kept going no matter what the weather threw at them! It could snow 10 inches over night and people were out shoveling their cars at the crack of dawn so they wouldn’t be late for work - I thought they were all crazy! I mean, when it snows or sleets one inch in NC schools were closed and you could often get by with not going to work - I loved it!

In both Chicago and Cleveland it would get cold (bitterly cold because of the wind off the lake) and it would begin to snow by November - December for sure. Then, the worst part, the snow would never melt (because it was too cold!) and it would just pile up and pile up and get plowed into big mountains on the side of the road and in parking lots and it would get brown and nasty, and it was just the worst! I literally hated it. ... Especially the gray skies.

But, contrary to popular belief, we don’t have to deal with that here in Colorado. It might snow often (or not, depending on the year), but more often than not it will snow and the next day the sun will come out and the snow will melt - it’s awesome! There was last year though, the winter of ‘06-’07 when it snowed several feet and people got stranded in their homes and there was a mess at the airport (and Matt’s family barely made it for Christmas) and the National Guard was called in to help clear the roads and rescue stranded motorists. Apparently that type of snowfall used to be more common in Colorado, but, whether due to global warming or whatever, drastic snowfall in Denver is rare now - although that is still a different story in the mountains. They can get several feet and we will only get a few inches.

One thing I can’t get used to though is it snowing in the spring - just like today - and they say there is always a chance of snow through May here. In NC and DC, I was used to spring really starting in March, with the daffodils and crocus and tulips started to bloom and the trees starting to bud and there being no hint of snow or sleet whatsoever for another year. But Denver’s not so bad. It’s not like Chicago or Cleveland where it gets cold and stays cold. It was 60 and sunny yesterday. It snowed today. And it’s supposed to get up to 70 this weekend; so I can’t complain! And I did take a “snow day!” It’s a good thing I work at home!

It’s a snow day today in crazy, colorful Colorado, but tomorrow will bring spring and I can’t wait. Have a good one. Amy

Oh, by the way, Colorado’s nickname is the Centennial State, but it is also called “Colorful Colorado” because of it's magnificent scenery of mountains, rivers and plains - see more at: http://www.colorful-colorado.com/ - and check out the great photography of John Fielder (mine is top & right (below) - I wouldn’t call that great!). But I did post a gallery of photos from our trip to Vail. You can see those at www.gallery.mac.com/amyrsinn. Enjoy!

My Sammy

Sammy last year - what a love bug!

I didn't want to start this blog off on a bad note, but I have to share, and memorialize, my cat, Sammy. He came to me when I was a student in N.C. back in 1994. He died 13.5 years later, on March 22, 2008, in our home here in Denver. He was a wonderful cat and was my "soul buddy" for all those years. I had him with me longer than anyone or anything (except perhaps my bedroom furniture that mom gave me when I was in my early 20s!) in my life. Letting him go was more difficult than I imagined, but he had had kidney problems for the past 8 years or so and his kidneys were finally failing - it was time to let him go. I did Reiki on him every day (Reiki is a type of energy work/healing) that reduced his pain and discomfort.

He had stopped eating about a week before he died and was preparing himself to go. Our vet suggested bringing him in to have him put to sleep within a couple of days, but I couldn't do it. He had been to the vet so many times and been stuck with needles so many times (we had been giving him subcutaneous fluids every other day for months) that I wanted him to leave us naturally and as peacefully as he could. (Thank you Janie for loaning me "The Zen of Living and Dying" - it actually came in handy!) ... So, I sat with him and held him when he wanted me to, and got peed on when he couldn't help it, and sent him healing energy as often as I could, and let him know how much I loved him, and have always loved him, every day.

He was still walking around the day before he died and so every day for the last week I would let him go outside and sit in the sun and lick his favorite plant - catmint, which he would end up laying on! He would lie in the sun for hours and I was so glad that he was able to enjoy that up until the day he passed. I thought he was going to die on Friday, 3/21, but I quickly realized that he might not let go if I was still sitting with him and holding him, and although I was telling him that he could go whenever he needed to, I was showing him that I wanted him to stay. So, Friday afternoon, I took him to our closet where he had made a bed for himself and I lay him down and told him I was ok with him leaving us if he had to, and I left him. I checked on him briefly several times, as did Matt, but I knew that I had to let him go, literally, before he could leave us. And so he passed away early Saturday morning. We decided to bury him with the catmint plant that he loved so much and I'm planning on planting more catmint on his grave this year, so that we'll always remember him. ... I miss him dearly, but he will always be with me, in my memories and in all the photos I have of him. He was very photogenic, as you can see. Thank you for helping me to memorialize my "baby kitty." He is loved and missed.

Sammy enjoying the sun -

several days before he died.

My Foray into Blogging - and Adoption!

There are millions of orphans in Ethiopia today due to malnutrition, disease and poverty. It is a land of stark beauty as well as stark poverty but, despite that, the children seem extremely happy and well adjusted. (Photos courtesy of Erica Leighton, Wide Horizons)

I've wanted to create a blog for a while and decided that now would be a great time - to detail our adoption process. Yes, you read that correctly. For those of you who haven't heard, or who we've not talked to, Matt and I are adopting! We started the application process back in February and are now in the process of completing a ton of paperwork, which will probably take us several months; then on to the home study [more about that later].

We have decided to adopt from Ethiopia. There is tremendous need there and lots of orphans in the country, and we've heard great things about the process - it's one of the easiest countries to adopt from, the wait is shorter than other countries (it's over two years for India, China and Russia), and it's cheaper. The cost shouldn't be a factor, but we honestly don't care what color our child is and we'd rather adopt a child who really needs us - and not be in major debt as a result - than to adopt a child because it looks like us. That being said, I know that all children without parents and without homes need parents, but we'd rather not have to pay more and wait longer for the opportunity to make a difference in a child's life.

So, we're adopting from Ethiopia [more on Ethiopia later] and using Wide Horizons for Children (www.whfc.org). The entire process is supposed to take about a year, so this time next year, we should have a child! Wow! That's hard to believe at this point and I'm sure the time is going to fly - just like it would if I were pregnant! Our lives are going to change drastically, I know, but we are ready. ... or at least we think we are! Wish us luck!