We lived there when she was born. I was a military wife living on base at Fort Carson. She was our youngest of four girls. Fast forward to High School. We were civilians now and living in Columbus, Ohio. She decided her freshman year to move in with her father (we were divorced in 2008) and worked diligently to apply and get acceptance to the Academy. I couldn’t wait to see her. In fact, her younger brother was coming with me and this would be his FIRST ever plane ride! It was touch-n-go whether or not he’d be able to come with me, but in the end, it worked out and we were on our way.
Connor and I kept his coming a secret to surprise her. After we got settled at the hotel and I had a couple hours sleep I went to go and pick her up from the Prep School. I spent time with her that morning doing girls things...like getting our nails done and having a mock tail at the Beauty Bar in Colorado Springs.
It was hard keeping it a secret!! The nice thing was our hotel had a huge breakfast buffet and a gym so Connor ate and worked out while I was gone. He also watched most of the OSU game in the room before we finally got back and dropped the surprise on her. She and I made plans to run at the Garden of the Gods park. We all dressed quickly and headed over. We were blessed with perfect weather. Sunny, 65 and zero wind. We had a blast. My children don’t run as much as I do so we kept it to 3 easy miles.
My sister said it best. The first year away from home is the hardest, so us making the trip now made the most sense for everyone. I am thankful that we planned this one ahead of time and had the money to do it. I don’t know how many times we will be back but, I think we made some special memories with her regardless. For Connor, it was a cool trip and the chance of a lifetime to fly somewhere he’s never been. I am so grateful I got to give him this experience and I got to share it with him. It was hard to say goodbye to her.
The Colorado marathon is now on my bucket list!!
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