Driving Again!!!

I wrote my first Lyftingmeup blog 364 days ago.  I launched my first attempt on  January 1, 2017 after lots of encouragement from my two kids Amy and Mateo, and my friends Jim and Chris. “Dad you need to write this stuff down”!  It has become part of my weekly ritual.  I know that retelling these encounters has sharpened my attention to storytelling. I have been honored to receive so many kind and encouraging responses from both friends and total strangers.  My move from 21 years of living in central Denver to the far edge of the Arvada suburbs coincided with my yearly car  inspection, which went past due. It was too much so I decided to take a 6 week sabbatical from Lyft driving.  Today I am back!!! I got Red inspected and I got my first ride from ‘the burbs’. 

The first ride today was a ‘suburban prototype’.  I was patiently waiting in my driveway and in just a few moments the ping came.  I headed to the big houses just a few blocks from ‘ranch patio home heaven’.  I pulled into a cul de sac to meet a family of four standing in the driveway.  They had all the kid gear, child seats, backpacks, and fold up stroller.  “We are going to a Nuggets game”.   The kids were not quite three and five.  Mom and Dad had moved here from Chicago in 2007.  Until about three months ago they lived in THE HIGHLANDS.  We immediately found we had a suburban migration in common.   A very spirited conversation ensued about how quickly Denver is changing.  He works for HUD and she works in air quality with the EPA.   They were the kind of family that gives me hope for the future.

This trip had no drama, no quirky issues, and no politics.  In the 30 minute drive to a restaurant a few blocks from the Pepsi Center, we had fun.  They found out I was a Pueblo native and they had all kinds of interesting questions about what it was like to grow up in Steel City.  I told them we were known as ‘Little Chicago’ which was in part related to our ‘low-grade’ Mafia connections. They were familiar with Pueblo’s slightly dubious reputation. I dropped them off and they were more than gracious.  I told them “I feel like I took my grandkids on a road trip”.  The kids both said “Goodbye Mark”.  And to think I get paid for this.

I gave two more rides, each one to a group of 20-somethings. They were fun and happy for the ride.   I decided to head home on the 22 mile trek back to ‘the far NW edge’.  I am happy to be back driving again.  It’s a time that brings me totally into the moment…and that is where life is lived. 

Year Two of Lyftingmeup begins tomorrow and I am ready to share another year of stories of life in the Lyft lane.

Onward and Upward,

Mark