The Overwhelming Excitement of New Years Day in Monte Vista, Colorado

The day began gray and somewhere in the 20s; unusually balmy for this time of year. The gray hung on, lower in some parts of town than in others, leaving behind hoar frost on a random tree and bush here and there. All the stores were closed except food stores, even the two liquor stores were closed. In fact, there aren’t many stores in Monte Vista.

After cleaning up the dog run, I grabbed the snow shovel and cleared the driveway. It was barely worth shoveling, but melting anything can lead to ice. It’s a pretty big driveway so it took a little while. Dusty and Bear barked at me through the fence and I told them to get over it.

I then cleared the walk beside the house and headed out to the front to get the walk from the front door to the sidewalk where my neighbor was sweeping away the snow with a heavy push broom. We shot the breeze for a while, said hello to another neighbor and his dog, then went back to our days. My main chore was going to the store and getting bananas and other necessary things that I was out of. The store was pretty full and I still have part of my California paranoia that people behind me in line are in a hurry. I was using the self-checkout (ha ha I think that’s a riot). I turned and apologized to the woman behind me. There’s a Bronco game today and she was all ready in her jersey, “It’s all right,” she said, “there’s no need to rush.”

No. I’m in Monte Vista. I’m in Monte Vista. ❤

Got home, ate lunch, rode the stationary bike, did my yoga, fed the dogs, talked to another neighbor on the phone (she’d passed by when I was calling Mindy from the front door), took a shower and now I’m writing this which sounds, probably, like a lot of NON-news, but…

A tranquil gray day is something to cherish. A neighbor who sweeps your walk is something to cherish. A neighbor who calls to make sure you got Mindy inside is something to cherish. The breaking clouds and sun on the mountain is worth a lifetime. A friendly smile at the not-so-supermarket is so much better than some angry guy yelling, “Why don’t you go through the checkout line with all that stuff?” and you only have 8 items… My third New Year commences here in Heaven and I think that, rather than making resolutions, it makes more sense to count the blessings of the past year. I won’t bore you with the list because, you know, it’s very, very long.