The night before

With the help of some a friend, Hope and I were able to sneak away for a date night at Cuba Cuba. We've been planning a dinner there for the past five years and finally had a chance to get out together for a meal.

The food at Cuba Cuba brought back memories of our trip to Belize and we both agreed that we must take Emiko there when she is old enough to appreciate an international trip.

Good food and the best of company made for a wonderful evening.

Thanks!

Father's Day

Seth - you are the most perfect father for our sweet Emi. I am so lucky to have you as my partner in parenthood. And in life. Happy first Father's Day. We love you so much!

Picnic with the family

We've had a run of brutal weather here in Colorado. Between the daily thunderstorms that roll in, there have been far too many overcast days. The thunderstorms have produced some vicious weather. Thunder loud enough to set off car alarms is the least of our concerns. The regular tornado warnings have far more serious implications. Before, most funnel clouds have waited to touch down until well east of Denver. We have now had funnel clouds and tornadoes around Denver in Aurora and Westminster. The hail storms have ruined cars, roofs and landscaping.

For us, we just sit back and watch. The new roof on our house protects us. The cars are garaged. Landscaping? At our house? Ha!

Today dawned with a beautiful blue sky and the gorgeous weather continued through lunch. Instead of going for a bike ride, I opted to meet Hope and Emiko at Foothills Academy and enjoy a little picnic with them. Gibson joined us on the lawn and the four of us reveled for an hour in the shade of a tree. Emi played with her snacks, Hope and I munched on some food and Gibson watched over us contentedly.

Life, for that hour, was perfect.

Welcome Adele

We want to welcome Adele Grassi Redmond to our wonderful world. She was born June 6 and came into this world at 9 pounds and 2 ounces...21.5 inches long. We can't wait to meet you in person in July. Even if your Dad and I can't go hang out at the new coffee shop in town.

Welcome Yaro Dean Veitch

Born 5/15/09 at 7 pounds and 10 ounces to Robbie, Kelly, big brother Shaw and the big dog Talisker. You have an incredible family, all of whom we love so much. We welcome you to this world and can't wait to meet you in person!

My Mom, the fighter

To my knowledge, my mother has never watched Braveheart.

She abhors violence. Anti war. Anti guns. She does not even like fights in hockey. For her, there are so many better ways to solve problems without resorting to violence.

But she is still a fighter.

Why is this even relevant? About nine years back, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Which she fought off. She had a lot of help but in the end, I attribute her success to her willingness to meet the cancer head on and fight it off in mind, body and spirit.

She fought cancer off with the help of good doctors. With the help of good friends. With the help of our extended family. With the help of good drugs. But what I remember most was her reliance on the soundtrack from Braveheart. She listened to it constantly as she prepared for her personal battle.

Yet it still boggles my mind that she can't bear to watch the movie. Her fighting spirit does not want to see the violence depicted in that movie. As much as this confuses me, I understand and respect that.

Braveheart's soundtrack became her personal musical accompaniment. It traveled with her as she endured radiation and chemotherapy. It kept her strong, so strong that she would don her bandanna and head to the office for a day's work. I think her connection with that music was so strong that she does not need to see the battles in the movie since she faced the same in real life. The fiction, the history and the legend in the movie metamorphosed into her own story.

That's my Mom...she'd have made a good frontierswoman. She'd probably have carried all three of us on her back across the country while preparing meals, taking care of the oxen and giving directions to Dad. And she'd have made it look easy!

Unfortunately, to all of our surprise, she is dusting off her soundtrack. What started as some fears about a neurological issue rapidly progressed last Monday into a full blown cancer treatment. She had her first radiation treatment on Thursday. True to form, she went to work on Friday.

Where does this leave me? Confused and scared. It has clearly been a tough few weeks. I'm grateful that Jeff is home with our parents. I'm happy that I have such a strong support system here in Colorado when I am so far from home and parents.

And I'm so happy to know my mother is such a fighter. Here we go again, Ma. We are all on your side in this fight.

Soda

A Mexican Coke was presented to me this morning. Oh the beauty of natural cane sugar in a carbonated beverage. After careful deliberation, I returned my gift to the gifter, thanked him and went about my way. It's been quite some time...6 months since my last Coke. Do I feel different? No. Have I lost weight? No.

But I'm not contemplating giving up high fructose corn syrup. Still not sure why but it doesn't seem like a bad idea.