Lyfting Me Up

” One of my simple pleasures is being the first person in the morning to go lap swimming in our HOA pool. There is something very serene about being alone in the pool, where not even a ripple shows. On a morning after a nice Colorado thunderstorm the water in the pool seems even more… Continue reading

I am a planner. I can tell you that Christmas Eve this year will be on a Sunday without looking at a calendar. I am already thinking about next summer when this one is just getting started. This can be a great gift, an irritation to those I share life with, or a setup for… Continue reading

I am not much of a procrastinator unless I want to be. Over the years with six moves since 2009, I have collected a number of various sized ‘totes’ with the historical record of my life. In them are everything from year books, hundreds of photos, valentines from the 5th grade and every paper I… Continue reading

“Reunions” I admit I have a bit of jealousy when I see a group of 50+ people parading through Estes Park, all wearing lime green tee shirts. Embossed on them in bold letters and cool cheesy graphics something like “Baker Family Reunion 2023”. My family used to have a yearly “Pumphrey Pigout”. The last one… Continue reading

George Winston, a prolific pianist/composer died this past week. We were the same age. How our family became familiar with him is a story within a story. It was 1987 and by a set of circumstances, we welcomed a foreign exchange student from Japan for the summer. This took some quick maneuvering as one of… Continue reading

Blame it on Baskin Robbins I am sure that having way too many choices began in my favorite ice cream store as a teenager. I suspect you have all had the experience of waiting behind three teenagers who had to try 11 flavors with the little spoon, before they settled in on Triple Chocolate Banana… Continue reading

I think the “takeover” began about 30 years ago when a call would be made to some business and instead of talking to a person, you were given the option of pressing a certain button for a desired outcome. There were the automatic car washes and sci-fi stories about robots taking over. Blame it on… Continue reading

I was once a ‘baby-sitter’. Yes, parents left 12-year-old Mark responsible for three young and impressionable children. When you are 12 and have to rely on all your resources to keep three kids entertained until they fall asleep, you have to have a bag of tricks. I am not sure how I came up with… Continue reading

When I was about four years old I was spending time with my four cousins. My dad and my uncle were business partners, Their eight kids (four from each family) were sort of raised as one family. Each family had three boys and one girl. Time with my cousins was precious and sometime raucous. I… Continue reading

Wednesday is one of my ‘swimming days’. My recreation center has added a number of hours to the lap swimming pool, which has made my ability to schedule swim time easy-peezy. I am finding that going there a bit after 1pm almost always assures me of my favorite ‘extra wide lane’, where I can finish… Continue reading