Visit Home to Denver

Katie D.

February 27, 2011 - 4:32 PM

I'm sitting in the airport as I write this, preparing to head back to Eugene after a whirlwind visit home to Denver. Sister Helen Prejean was speaking at my home church, so my best friend Madeline and I took the long trip back to Colorado to see her speak and to visit my family.

I wrote a full blog about seeing Sister Helen again, but I also wanted to write about what it has meant to me to be home for this brief weekend, and also to show a friend from college around my hometown. Because I live so far away from school, I've never been able to share my childhood home with any college friends. This has been such a joy to have Madeline with me for the weekend: hanging out with my parents, walking around my neighborhood, driving by my old schools and other landmarks, and participating in an event in my home church of St. Andrew United Methodist. It was particularly fun that this friend was Madeline, since she has shared her family with me for the past year, including dinner events with her folks. It means a lot to me that my friends have a chance to meet my family, and it means even more that she was willing to fly out to Denver with me, even just for a brief weekend.

We did manage to pack a lot in.

Friday afternoon and evening was all about Sister Helen. In fact, the weather was bad so I didn't even get to show off the mountain vistas we enjoy out here in the Mile High City. We spent the time with my mom, Sister Helen, and members of my church's leadership team. It was a fabulous event, and it was so special to me that I had so many important people all in one place: my mother, my best friend, and a personal hero: Sister Helen.

Saturday we mostly spent with my dad. He cooked us breakfast and I showed Madeline around the house and neighborhood where I grew up. It was funny to see my old bedroom through someone else's eyes: the old posters, the stuffed animals, and the wall of marching band pictures. It was such a strange and wonderful thing to have my worlds collide: my childhood and Colorado life introduced to my college best friend.

One of the high points of the week was our trip up to Evergreen, which is a tiny town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. We Coloradans are so endlessly proud of our mountains, and it was the perfect blue-sky day to show off. Evergreen is a funny little town, and Dad was playing a solo gig at the grungiest dive bar I have ever seen: the Little Bear. It was really fun to hear him play again (it's always one of my favorite parts about going home) and I loved the vibe at the bar. We also got to go and slide around on Evergreen Lake, which is a skating and ice fishing destination for some, and was a glorious afternoon walk for us.

Today we spent the morning with my mom, visiting some of the cool and trendy areas of Denver. We visited the Tattered Cover, which is my favorite bookstore in the world.

Now we're heading back to Eugene, and back to normal life. It's been a really brief and really wonderful trip home. I can't believe how lucky I am to have the chance to get back to Colorado, even for so brief a time. And I also can't believe that I got to share it this time with Madeline. It's been an adventure of a weekend for sure. Now back to Eugene and real life!