Friday

Friday is when everything started to change. I realize the next few posts won't mean nearly as much to anyone else reading the blog, but I'm trying to create a record for myself, so I can keep track of what happened and when it all went down.

On Friday morning, I woke up from what was the most restful sleep I had had in ages. My little room at the inn in Walsenburg was so desperately needed. I enjoyed a complimentary full breakfast downstairs and then took my time loading up the car. Wanting to look nice for L, the midwife I was about to visit, I even threw on a dress and nice jewelry. I was feeling pretty good.

Before I left town, I hit up the cemeteries (of course), but I never did find a relative I thought for sure was buried there. It was slightly freaky being the only live person in a pretty large cemetery, not including the wild rabbits that would run by every so often. When I started realizing that all the holes in the ground belonged to things that slithered, I decided enough was enough.

I bid farewell to Walsenburg and headed out for my next destination of Pitkin, Colorado, which was about three hours away. The entire drive was on a narrow two-lane highway with nothing around. I remember passing field after field after field with all kinds of animals, including buffalo, but otherwise it truly felt like the middle of nowhere. My iPhone reception was in and out the whole time, but as long as the blue dot kept bouncing along the purple line, I knew I was going the right way.

Pitkin was a whole different world than anything I had been used to. L and her manfriend, Bob, greeted me warmly when I arrived. I didn't really know her all that well before this trip, so it was such an honor to have been invited and welcomed the way I was. Their guest room was on the third floor, which was interesting because at about 8,000 ft elevation, those last few stairs really got me. They warned me about it, so I was glad to know I had a good excuse for my shortness of breath. Their property was so beautiful! There was a little stream about two feet wide that ran behind their home and, being pure mountain water that had been snow just fifteen minutes earlier, they used it for drinking and washing all kinds of things. The outhouse was still perfectly functional, as they only got indoor plumbing within the past few years.

In the winter, the snow can reach levels of 14 feet at a time, so they have to store some massive amounts of food, just in case they can't get out for months at a time. The closest city where they can buy basic groceries is about 45 minutes away. The closest city where they can really buy groceries is Colorado Springs, which is about three hours away. Their lifestyle is so different!

Bob got a kick out of me. I thought he was a trip. At 65, he seemed much younger than he really is. I had been pre-warned that I should avoid discussing politics with him, but I was kind of surprised to discover just how "right-handed" he really was. He goes to tea parties and thinks Obama is a terrible president and he has guns all over the house. After a few minutes with him, I was like, whoa, where am I? But, if I learned nothing else on this trip, it was that I should always keep an open mind, so that's what I did. Over the two days I was there, we talked a lot about politics and I was really surprised to learn we actually had a few things in common. He was quite honestly the first conservative Republican I had ever met who was not bigoted, mean, uneducated, and full of hatred. He just didn't want the government so involved in his life.

We agreed on abortion, gay marriage (somewhat), and the legalization of marijuana. He got me thinking about the second amendment and I challenged him on his views of local government. Mostly, we laughed a lot and had a great time together. Late in the afternoon, he asked if I would be interested in trying out a rifle for the first time. After a big "uh, hmm, well, okay" we packed up and headed up the gravel road for some target practice. Before my first time shooting, he was great about showing me how to hold a rifle, how to know whether it was loaded, how to use the safety, how to aim, how to wear ear protection, etc. Finally, when I was ready, they hung gold Christmas decoration balls from a nearby tree and those were our targets. I honestly thought I would hate holding a gun and firing, and that I was just going along with it because I was a guest. So, I was totally surprised to learn that I actually liked it! My particular girly rifle was super easy to fire and it was fun trying to hit the targets. I'm proud to say I did manage to hit one three times! Bob took the ball down and sent it home with me as a souvenir.

It's interesting how foreign rifle shooting is to me, living in the Bay Area. There, though, it's a necessary survival skill. Bob has had a bear in his house twice. There's no such thing as animal control or police protection there. Only the tourists stop at the stop sign on the major drag, because the residents know if they don't stop, there's no one to enforce it. You totally have to be survivalists to live where they do. As compared to the Bay Area, where so many people have a job just to earn money, out there, people work jobs that require a major amount of skill. Everyone has to have something to contribute to the community. L was welcomed with open arms, because a midwife certainly qualifies as one of those types of jobs.

Interesting how here independent midwives are a big nuisance to doctors and the medical world, but there, midwives are honored community members. Big differences between our worlds.

We sat on the front porch sipping drinks (water for me) for hours, just chatting and catching up. I got to just sit and breathe in a way I almost never get to do back home. It was so wonderful. In the evening, we stood out on the upper deck to admire all the stars in the sky. I never knew there were so many! Silly me, I made a comment about how the stars actually twinkle, which Bob thought was hilarious. I'll never live that down. Crazy city girl that I am.

In bed that night, A and I texted about our day. She left Casa the same time I did, because she had plans to attend a home birth in another state. Friday night, her client looked like she was really about to have her baby, so A and I texted back and forth about how it was going. About 1 am, the client was 7 cm and all was well, so we said good-night and I fell asleep.