Tag: Colorado

Native Getaways: Boyd Lake State Park

Boyd_Lake_121Native getaways are the best!  They are vacations taken within a person’s town, city, state, or country.  It’s where local people blend in with the tourist and become vacationers.  It’s where excitement over seeing something new and wonderful is displayed.  It’s when good and interesting conversations are born and sometimes lasting friendships are made.  It’s where people learn something new about their surroundings and appreciate things close to home. Native getaways are when people discover life outside of what they know! Have you ever had a native getaway?  If not, you must try it sometime.

— My Vacation Experience —

This week my family and I went camping at Boyd Lake State Park for five days. The campsite was $20 per night with a daily $8 vehicle pass fee.  However, it is more cost-effective to buy the $70 annual pass if you camp regularly at Colorado State Parks.  The cost seems a bit steep but it will save you money over the camping season; especially if you and or your family like to camp often at Colorado State Parks.

The day scheduled for camping started stressful.  And by the time we arrived at the campsite we discovered the trailer had major issues.  The toilet was leaking, the gray water valve was leaking, and the air conditioner wasn’t cooling off the trailer.

With all that was going on with the trailer my family and I could not attend the Greeley Stampede.  Major disappointment!  Major!  It would have been the first for us to attend the event.  But my hubby and I had to stay behind and try to fix some of our trailer problems.

We could not fix the toilet because the RV parts store was closed, but we went to a localFamily Travel Trailer Wal-Mart and purchased a small storage tub.  We placed the tub under the leak and called the situation good!  The air conditioner started working better on its own!  Thank!  God!

And by the time things started turning around I was in tears!  I was so disappointed!  Each year we use our Jayco trailer I am in tears of regret.  Another story I will share somewhere down the road is how to buy a recreational vehicle.

But to make our situation worse I left the battery chargers for all of our cameras sitting on the kitchen counter.  After discovering I had left the batteries I had a poor attitude!  And as I saw things then:  to make matters worse I even forgot to pack SD cards.  Laughter!

Let’s just say I wasn’t ready for the trip as much as I would have loved to have been.  But the most important thing is we got a chance to have a mini-vacation within the state we live.  Colorado!

While staying at Boyd Lake we took advantage of sightseeing some of the neighboring tourist attractions.  We went to Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, and shopped at one of Colorado Cherry Company country stores.

Well by the end of our vacation I was okay with what all had gone wrong.

The Prayers of Black Women: Can You Please Help My Friend

4213264-261659-vector-illustration-of-a-breast-cancer-pink-ribbon-treeLord, I went to sleep way too early yesterday evening.  And when I woke I was at a lost.  I wasn’t sure what to do with my time.  So I began to search for a young man who was on my heart.  When I could not find him I decided to read post on my Facebook account.  And then Lord I came across the below post of a friend that is fighting cancer:

Sometimes I wish I could just close my eyes & disappear….

Lord, I responded with:  “If you could do that then I would miss you; and the world would be minus a remarkable woman. Sending you a hug from the beautiful state of Colorado.”

Lord, I don’t know the ramifications of her health challenge but you do.  I don’t know how strong her emotional and mental support system is, but you do.  And, Lord, I don’t know how supportive her medical team is, but you do.  But I do know Lord, her illness and concerns are bigger than she and I can handle, therefore, I am bringing them to you.

Please Lord, give her your courage.  I’m asking that peace be still in her life.  I’m praying that joy won’t wait to visit but that it will stop by today and continue to visit everyday.  I’m asking Lord that you give her body the strength to fight for wellness.  I’m praying Lord that you will put a joyful song in her heart; and give her unmovable faith in your abilities.  I’m praying for her medical team.  I’m asking Lord that she has the best doctor’s in her state, city, or town giving her medical attention.  I’m asking Lord that she has favor with each medical staff that comes across her path.  I’m asking for emotional blessings for her family, friends, and loved ones.  I’m asking Lord that you please hold her hand and let her know you are walking with her on this journey.  And most of all I’m asking that she no longer wants to close her eyes and disappear.

Love,
Annette

P.S.

Lord, I sharing one of my favorite songs with those that need to hear something spiritually uplifting.

 

Inspirational Fridays: Aging With and Without Regrets

As my sister celebrated her birthday this year she was and is unquestionably delighted to turn 50. I on the other hand did not look forwards to turning another year older.  Yet my 52 birthday was creeping closely and did manage to arrive on scheduled.   My birthday is never late!   Honestly, I really wish after I had turned 30 my birthday would come around once every 10 years.

It appears my regretful and wounded soul continues to look for the life that was lost so long ago.

My person questions all of life’s ambitions, my life’s ambitions, to a point where I’m silently asking the following:  What makes the aging graceful and ready to grow older and old?  What makes the aging mean and bitter as they do grow older and old?  And what will I become as I age and my physical beauty continues to fade?  Will I be a sweet old woman that has few regrets?  Or will I become an old bag of bitter bones that is mean because I failed to live my life to its fullest?

Truthfully, I would say at this point I am becoming by default ‘an old bag of bitter bones that is mean because I failed to live my life to its fullest.’

Are you shocked at my brutal conclusion of my self awareness examination?  Are you shocked that I can be as truthful about what I inwardly harbor?  Don’t be shocked because there are other’s just like me.  Perhaps you are like me.  Maybe you are worse than me.  But it is never too late for us to change the course of our lives as long as we continue to breathe hope.

At this moment my beloved Colorado is under flood watch.  Because of flooding many of the smaller cities and towns have been force to evacuate. Lives are being uprooted by force of nature and people have to take shelter of safety in unfamiliar places.  Uncertainty about the course of their lives looms over the evacuees’ heads as they wait for the storm to subside.

After carefully watching video footage of flooding areas in Colorado I have come to the conclusion, it is the amount of life’s storms and their surges that determines if we will age gracefully or bitter.

And regrettably sometimes our personal lives from beginning to end are under flood watch or in the eye of the storm.

At least my life is consistently under storm watch; and often my poor choices continue to place me in the midst of raging floods.  And, since, I didn’t know how to swim to safety I have found myself spiritually and emotionally drowning over and over again.  As a result, I regret a few things I have done, moreover, my biggest regrets are the things I failed and continue to fail to do; therefore, for me aging is a big reminder how I wasted my talents and my life.

With remorse I must write, my life [outside of my children] was squandered on people and things that could not validate my existence.  In a nutshell, I confess, I spent the majority of my life looking for validation from people who had never been validated themselves.   So when I turned 50 I felt life was over for me.  I felt nothing about me depicted a life of success and that included the children I dearly love.

But as I continue on this journey we call life, every day I am reminded people age 50 and over that are living wonderful lives with little to no regrets.  And Lillie McCloud is one of those people.  She is an amazing singer.  She has an amazing outlook about her life.  She does not regret putting her singing career on hold to raise her children.  At the age of 54 she feels now is her time to fulfill her dream.  I just love her confidence during her X Factor audition.  She selected the right song. She wore the right outfit. Her persona said what she stated “I’m here to win” as she sang Cece Winans’ song “Alabaster Box.” Everything about Lillie says age 50 is where it’s at!  Check her out:

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