Tincup, Colorado

I will be taking a mini vacation to my favorite place in the world this weekend – Tincup, Co.  It is a small ghost town on the Western Slope of Colorado.  I have grown up visiting the town since I was born, Tincup is a very special place to me and my family.  About 8 years ago my parents decided to start on their dream of building our own cabin.  Summer after summer my amazing father build us a cabin with his own hands.  The only professional help he had was putting on the tin roof.  I grew up in this small community each summer, and have many fond memories.  It has resulted in my love of history as each summer I find new treasures from the past that fascinate me. I am so excited to start off my summer with a trip to Tincup and spend time with my parents, sister, and grandparents. It will be a great time to be with my family one last time before I am married.

Thank you…

I was feeling a little down at work today, and my favorite coworker was so nice to cheer me up!

Pepto and Flowers…

Last night I had possibly the worst stomach ache I have had in a long while. As I laid in bed I wondered if I should suck it up and go to the store to pick up some pepto-bismol. I really felt bad and didn't want to move though. I didn't want to call Matt, because I knew he was out to eat with a bunch of friends and I didn't want to interupt his dinner. However, I just couldn't take it and called to ask if he would mind picking me up some medicine. I felt bad, but thought, he loves me and shouldn't mind doing it. Well about 20 minutes later he showed up in my room with the pepto and…..FLOWERS!!! I love getting surprises, especially from him. It felt so good that he did that for me, especially when I was worried I was disturbing his dinner. Thanks Matt, I love you!

The Importance of Being….Intellegent

This morning Matt led a small group book discussion at St. Marks Episcopal Church on Brennan Manning's The Importance of Being Foolish. It was a two part discussion which started last week, but I could not go because I was visiting family.  However, today I joined him and was amazed at who and what I was listening to.  I love when Matt speaks at church and I love listening to his theories in Small groups.  This morning though I was amazed at his calm presence and intelligence he brought to the table to lead the group.  The group had a very different make up than the small groups we usually attend.  I say this because I am used to seeing Matt speak amongst our peers in the 20's, but today I saw him speak more eloquently and with such presence to a group comprised mostly of people over the age of 50.  He made them laugh, kept their attention, and most of all brought forth new ideas to a group of new people on the subject of the Emerging Church.  I became fully aware at just how smart and what a strong depth of knowledge Matt has on a wide array of Christianity.  I was amazed and am exited to be marrying him.

Ikea

Even though I sold most of my stuff, I am exited about the next phase of furniture we will have, IKEA!

2 1/2 Hours!!

I had my garage sale today, and it did not go as well as I had hoped.  It was pretty boring and sometimes humbling to sit out there with all my stuff and hope that people will think it is good enough to buy.  A lot of people came and looked at all my stuff and left quickly, others bought things, and more people asked "what happened to your dog?".  I started at about 9 am and lasted to 11:30 am.  I basically gave up and was sick of sitting outside in my garage.  Right as I was about to pack it in, an older couple came, saw the entertainment center I thought I would have sold at 9 am, and offered me 20 bucks for it.  I wanted 50, it was solid oak and in really good condition.  I took the 20 and thought at least I had sold it.  After all is said and done, I ended up with about $300, so not too bad, but I still thought I would have received more.  

Since we are moving out I thought the rest of the day might be good for cleaning, so I started to clean my tile floor.  I knew it was going to be a job, but it ended up taking 2 and a half hours scrubbing really hard on my hands and knees to get it cleaned.  I was so fustrated, I couldn't believe how long it took, and what hard work it was.

Being an Adult…

Lately I have been feeling really down about a lot of things.  It always seems that everything happens all at once, and boy for me it really has.  It hit me very hard that being an adult can be hard sometimes.  I have enjoyed making my own decisions, really taking charge of my future, but lately all the responsibilities have been overwhelming.  It has been bill after bill, job after job, and more things to deal with than I like to think about.  I am in the process of moving out of my house, which is both exciting and really sad.  I am having a moving sale Saturday and as I try and pack up my house it has made me very emotional.  I am selling virtually everything I have grown up with and lived with (furniture wise).  I know that all of my items are all material, but there are a lot of memories attached to my things.  It will be hard to sell it all, but I am also very excited to start a new life with Matt in Seattle.  I am trying to be positive about things, but sometimes it is all so much to handle.  

On a lighter note… Our dog Basil had some good news that her leg is almost all healed up, which means no more cast and no more vet bills (I pray!!).

Hero…

My 96 year old great Grandfather has always, and will always be someone I greatly admire. Every project I did in high school about my personal hero was always about him. He is the most amazing, yet stuborn man I know. I love him with all my heart and am so glad he is still in my life today. From my earliest memories, he told me many stories from his life. His many jobs in mining, owning a restuarant, gambling his restaurant away, the love for his wives (his first wife died of cancer, and he remarried years later), and his time in the Navy. I credit him for my interest in History, and consequently my career path in teaching History. When Matt asked me to marry him my parents and I immediately knew we had to ask him to walk me down the aisle with my father. It would mean so much to me and our entire family to have four generations represented at our ceremony. When we asked him he started to cry, he said he would be there no matter what.

In September, his wife (she was as close to a great grandmother as she could be) passed away, leaving him lonely and sad. It was a very hard time for our family, he had to move out of the house he had lived in for 35 years into a small assited living apartment. My whole family tries to have someone visit him every week, but he recently got very sick and had to move into a nursing home. This was the ultimate worst for him. He flat out refused to go, but he had to. The doctors told my family he would need to be put in Hospice, they thought he was going to die. It was a horrible time for all of us. The people in the nursing home told us all he talked about was the wedding he was to be in. Like I said before, he is so stubborn, he refused to be labeled as dying, and miracously he got better little by little. The doctors said he wouldn’t ever make it out of the nursing home, but he HATED IT there. Well what did he do, he kept getting better and this past weekend I went up to visit him and help him move back into his apt. He isn’t 100%, but he looks great for 96 years, he now walks with a walker, but that is better than lying in Hospice. I love him very much and greatly admire his strength to make it out of the nursing home. When I asked him how it felt to be back home, he told me it felt great and that he was going to start some exercises soon. I asked him why did he want to exercise, and he said, “by God Kelli, I have a wedding to go to in July, and I am going to walk you down that aisle!”

The End.

It is my last day at my teaching job, it is supposed to be a teacher work day.  However, I finished all of my work already, and am just left to ponder the end that has just occured in my life.  Yesterday was the students last day, and it turned out to be surreal.  It was very hard to say goodbye to some of my students, because I had really formed a bond with them.  One girl left the room crying because she was going to miss me, since I was not coming back next year.  It brought tears in my eyes because within this one person I saw that I had an impact on her life.  She was crying because I was leaving, it was so sad.  My students are all gone today, and I sit here all alone in my room.  The only memory I have left of my first teaching gig is the sign on the white board that says: "We love Ms. Rieger and we will miss you!!"  My students wrote it yesterday, and the janitors were so nice to leave it up for me to look at today. 

Now I am left to look back on my life, and wonder what God has in store for my future.  I don't have a clue what is to come.  Some days I accept it, and other days I freak out wondering why moving to Seattle can't be easier.  I sat in my room this morning looking at the note from my students, looking at the beautiful scenary out my window, the flag in the corner of my room, and the emptiness that now lives here.  I prayed that I will get another chance to teach in Seattle, that I will make more connections with my students, that I will look out the window and see water and mountains, that I will have another room with another flag in the corner, and the my classroom will be filled with the joy from students learning History.

Wanna buy a trailer?

Matt bought a mobile home less than a year ago in Durango.  It was a great deal, and saved him money on rent for the time being.  However, now as we are gearing up to move to Seattle we are trying to sell his place.  It has been one of the most fustrating experiences so far for us.  We cleaned it all up, moved out all of things he is going to take to Seattle, had to take out a fence, mow, and all these other little things.  We placed an ad in the classified and thought it would probably sell really fast.  Well, it hasn't, it has just been one thing after the other with trying to sell it.  The land owners want the next person who wants to buy it to repaint it, build new decks, and re-skirt it.  So we had to lower our price.  Both of us have prayed for hours for guidance on what to do, hoping that it will sell.  I believe that it is a test of our faith.  We are not trying to screw someone out of a lot of money at all, but rather we are just hoping to make a little money to take to Seattle when we move.  Maybe I am to learn patience through all this and that God does have some kind of plan behind our troubles, but sometimes it would be nice to know, haha.  Honestly though, we hope that we can sell it, and that someone will have a home to live in for cheaper rent in Durango, just as Matt did for awhile.  I will keep you updated, pray that we can sell it!!