You’d think that Mother Nature could get it together for a few hours for an important day like this. After working like crazy to be here, it would have been nice to at least have had some sunshine… alas we were just lucky it wasn’t raining!

The pictures that I caught of you unawares, smiling to yourself, proud of your accomplishment are the best ones. You have a right to be proud of yourself. It’s not easy to make it through college and it’s really not easy to have to work while your doing it!

When I woke up I was 17 : You kissed my lips in a bad bad dream : Showed me things aren’t what they appear to be : Called me angel and set me free   You gave me life in the cold cold dark : But you ran away in the morning’s spark : Made me think that reality : Is not where I want to be : I am what I am and : I am what I am afraid of : Oh what am I afraid of : I need a fearless love : Don’t need to fear the end : If you can’t hold me now : You will never hold me again : I want to live my life : Pursuing all my happiness : I want a fearless love : I won’t settle for anything less : I’ve walked my path had worlds collide : I lost my way and I fooled my pride : This lover’s ache wouldn’t feel so strange : If I could only change : But I am what I am and : I am what I am afraid of : So what am I afraid of : I need a fearless love : Don’t need to fear the end : If you can’t hold me now : You will never hold me again : I want to live my life : Pursuing all my happiness : I want a fearless love : I won’t settle for anything less : Now I’m not here to lay the blame : I understand when you hold a flame : Heads will shake heads will turn : And sometimes you just get burned

She looks a little tired!

I guess we’re going now.

City Park is lovely at any time of year.

An historic building by Denver standards…

Birds of a feather and all that jazz

I’ m not sure where people get twins, but you’re definitely sisters!

She’ll definitely be spoiled.

A couple of trouble makers

Making new friends!

Let’s go already!

These guys are simply marvelous– when they’re out there in the water or up in the air.

A lovely walk around the park and visit for the girls. We’ll have to do that again one day!

Click on the picture to enlarge!

Happy Birthday! You look Marvelous!!!!

If only you were this sweet to each other all the time.

Breakfast at the Squeaky Bean– what’s the silly expression? Good Eats.

Cassidy and Kiko waiting for breakfast… twiddling their thumbs.

Pleasant atmosphere although I didn’t see any chai. Delicious french toast though– and roasted potatoes.

If I could tell myself anything and change the past, I would say to the young girl who had just moved to Denver Colorado in 1979: don’t be afraid of the life you find here. Life may not always be easy or happy or full of warm gushy feelings, but it can be full of adventure and fun… and ultimately, it is yours. You will make mistakes. You will stumble along the way but lack of perfection is human and it’s okay. You don’t need to live in shame and fear the rest of your life. You don’t need to worry about the Big Lightening Bolt of God’s wrath if you’re not a believer. You have questions and you need to follow those to find your own true path. Follow your bliss and don’t worry about making the people in your life happy. They never will be so it is a futile effort. Don’t take efforts (as defined by your overzealous parents- and grandparents) to be perfect. It’s not attainable and will only lead to your making decisions that have nothing to do with what is best for you.

As the seasons change – remember how I used to be

Now I can’t go on – I can’t even start

I’ve got nothing left – just an empty heart

I’m a soldier – wounded so I must give up the fight

There’s nothing more for me – lead me away…

Or leave me lying here

Sound the bugle now – tell them I don’t care

There’s not a road I know – that leads to anywhere

Without a light I fear that I will – stumble in the dark

Lay right down – decide not to go on

Then from on high – somewhere in the distance

There’s a voice that calls:

Remember who you are!

If you lose yourself – your courage soon will follow

So be strong tonight – remember who you are

Yeah you’re a soldier now – fighting in abattle

To be free once more …

Yeah, that’s worth fighting for

A young man.

Today is a beginning and ending for you. You are no longer a baby, no longer a toddler who needs mom and dad to help him over the rocks. Today I watched you figure out how you were going to get up and down the slope, through the bushes, and over the rocks to where a piece of garbage lay in the mud– it wasn’t a fun job but you did your part and I was glad to see you working at getting the task done. This small task is like life– it’s not always clean and it’s not always fun. You sometimes have to give up what you want or wanted to do in order to make your world a better place, but you’ll find at the end of the day, that it is very worth it. This is true in your relationships to others and to the earth.

Physically you will change whether you want to or not, or whether your dad and I have prepared you for it or not. You’re hormones will take you on a wild ride and you might find girls to be a bit of a distraction. Girls and sex and romance are all wonderful and great, but don’t let your hormones get the better of you. You have a life to live and if you get too distracted with your physical desires, you will miss out on the last bits and pieces of your childhood- pieces that you will cherish later.  You might also sabotage your ability to have the life you want. (I’ll speak plainly that if you get a girl pregnant and she wants to have it, you will be ordered to pay child support. This means you might not be able to get the education you want. At the least it will make it much harder).

You will also feel constrained by the demands of my house or by your dad’s. It’s important for you to learn how to confront those rules that are unreasonable and to deal with those that are simply the result of living with adults that are looking out for your best interest whether you want them to or not. You may not always know the difference, but I can help you understand it if you speak up about your frustrations.

For my part, I will always insist that you are work hard in school and put forth your best work. I will restrict your behavior if you are blowing me off and doing only what you think you can get away with. I am not impressed with the education you are getting in school so I may ask for more than what your teacher is requiring of you. I would do this because I love you, because I want you to have a happy life and you’re not going to have a happy life if you’re not smart enough to make good decisions. You and your sisters have natural intelligence but when you don’t use it and strengthen it, then you won’t be able to make good decisions when the time comes. You might feel like you’re really accomplishing something by having other people do things for you be playing dumb or getting a sad face, but you are only hurting yourself by falling into that (really bad) habit. To manage your life with some sort of ease and enjoyment, you will be best off if you are strong, smart and honorable. You gain those qualities by working at them. None of them come easy.

So much to think about! So much to consider!

Fortunately you don’t have to learn it all today. You have the days in front of you to learn about life and who you want to be…And if you’re struggling with knowing who you want to be, look at the people around you who are truly happy and enjoying life. They cannot tell you who you are, but they can give you a clue about how you can figure it out for yourself.

I want you to take the naming ceremony seriously. You can choose a name that will really reflect who you want to be or what you to do someday (For example: “Flyboy” might be a name for a kid who wanted to be a pilot). You could use it as your middle name if you want to.