the    sides

It’s snowing today and for the first time since we moved here….I miss Colorado. I miss stealing a day skiing with friends. I miss the first lift up, the squeaking of powder underneath my skis. I miss the way the sun hits the foothills in the morning and the last peak of orange before dinner.

For some reason, it’s hard to stay focused today and I find my thoughts continually drifting West. When I hear people complain about the snow here, I smile and nod. I understand that in can be a nuisance. It makes our cars dirty and it’s impossible to get the Christmas lights off the house. (I promise I’m trying…sort of.) It slows things down – you can’t drive as fast, stop as fast, get to where you are going as fast, or get ready to leave as fast because of the layers you have to dress in. But that’s another reason I love the snow. It slows me down.

And when I slow down, I remember things. Namely, I remember Camber wrestling with this feeling when we first moved here. I learned much from her watching her deal with moving. Last semester I had one of those moments that I’m convinced God orchestrated for my benefit. Cammy walks into the living room, plops down besides me looking down. I asked ‘You okay?”

She passionately told me that she loved her new school, her new friends, her new church, her new house and if only she could get new siblings to go with it, her life would be perfect. As it stood – it was not going to be perfect until they all moved out. I thought to myself – if we’re lucky they’ll all move out. “You think they might just feel the same way at times?”

She looked at me like I was from Mars. And I asked her at the risk of it blowing up in my face – so you don’t miss Colorado anymore?

“Oh no. There are days I do but there’s room for more than one favorite in your heart, isn’t there?”

I sat dumbfounded at the depth and wisdom of my quirky, funny, off-the-wall middle child. “Yes, Camber. You are absolutely right.”

So later today, I’ll be fine and I’ll see Camber and she’ll make me laugh.

But for a few moments this morning, I wish I could see Pike’s Peak.