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| Cowgirl Maya |
Assuming I'm one of those super efficient people who posts the day after a major life event, this post is exactly 5 1/2 weeks late. Alas, I'm not one of those people. I love blogging but Real Life must always take precedence, and there's been a continuous onslaught of Real (Dirty) Life in that time period.
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| Jethro |
In one of my bigger strokes of luck in this lifetime, I was once a full-time citizen of the
Hearthstone cohousing community in Denver. Only the founding of SCRANCH, a longtime curiousity/dream, could tear me away. And what a tear it was.
On the eve my departure for North Dakota, the community threw Kirk and I a rousing Barnyard Bash, in honor of my rural future. Organized by Lynn, Susan and Tracy, the evening was definitely one of the highlights in my life - the gesture of the community, the farm-themed decor, the delicious food, everyone in costume - I can't believe I didn't cry all the way through it.
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| Diana, Brett and Isabella - in full overall glory! |
When I first landed in NoDak and Kirk flew back to Denver, when the reality of my new life had settled in, I began to miss just two things, in this order:
- Hearthstone Kids
- Mexican Food
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| I'm totally ready to cry here. |
I could be biased but I think they are the funniest, cutest, smartest kids in the world and I as much I love birdsong out my window every day, I miss their squeals of laughter much more than I ever imagined.
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| Annika and Thea |
I have a distinct memory in the days leading up to my departure that sticks in my mind. I was coming back from Sunflower (conveniently right next door, not 18.5 miles away!) and Caitlin and Alex were playing in the center yard. They began calling out to me, teasingly, something like:
"I'll be you can't climb as high as we can!"
And I volleyed back with something like,
"Oh yeah, I'll bet I can!"
And Kathryn responded matter-of-factly from her porch, shaking her head,
"You're gonna miss all that crap."
Damned if she wasn't dead on. Sniff, sniff.....WAH!
ANYWAY, I've finally gotten around to posting the photos from the evening
on Flickr (NOT a fan of the new upload format, btw) and with the help of David Nichol, got lots of nice shots. And I especially love how a bunch of otherwise 'normal' guys....
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| Jim, Joe and Craig |
.... can reveal their inner redneck at a moment's notice.
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| JimBob, JoeBob and Lonnie |
One of the best parts of the evening, came when I was asked to lead an impromptu improv performance with some of my Hearthstone students. They did great and the community audience just loved it! I wasn't expecting this but hey, isn't that the point of improv? Making it up on the spot and turning on a dime? I thought it was a terrific idea. Even the kids got involved.
And, if the party weren't enough, I also received gifts! How crazy is that? I got this awesome shirt, which I still haven't worn because I don't want to get it dirty - I know, I KNOW:
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| Waiting for a special day.... |
The shirt came compliments of the lovely gal on the right:
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| Kellie and Tracy - ain't they purty? |
Tracy is married to this lovable maniac, a man who I may or may not have tried to quiet later that evening in a restaurant with a severe baptismic gesture. It did nothing to alter his behavior but he did look shocked for a few minutes as he sat there, dripping wet:
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| Gah, I miss this guy too! |
It was a beautiful evening - one I'll never forget. I can't wait to return in August for a visit and see everyone again.
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| Mmmmm, cowboys.... |
Still, I like to think I have additional Hearthstone memories coming down the road. My gut tells me I'm not done with this place at all.
6 comments:
Great post and even better pics. It was a wonderful evening- Kirk
It was indeed. See you tomorrow! :-D
Has it really been 5 weeks. I missed the party, which is a shame, but its really YOU I miss.
Awww! I miss you too, sweets. Thankfully, our friendship is bonded so we have MANY memories ahead of us.
Very good picture of you with the farm T-shirt. Flattering.
Thanks, Heidi!
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