A Roller Coaster of Emotions

The craft show went well. I paid my fee and made the most I have yet. I once again learned a lot and I will take what I've learned with me to the next show. I was actually thinking about doing one more big one this season if I can still get in until I saw poor Irv hobbling around this morning. His back is a mess from lifting boxes, crates and the booth. :(

Thank you so much for all of the birthday wishes yesterday. That was so kind of all of you. It was a wonderful birthday.

On a sad note....Matt's first Search and Rescue ended sadly. My heart is just aching for a family, for everyone that helped search including my little boy.....A woman in her 50's had dropped her husband off so he could hunt on the mountain. They set up where they would meet for her to pick him up. When he got to the location that evening, her car was there with their dogs in it, but she was not there.

They searched that night until they couldn't any longer and then Matt's group joined them Sunday morning. They had a helicopter and ATV's, people on foot and people on horseback. Matt hiked for hours calling her name and following the instructions from the command center on where to search next.

Late in the day, the helicopter spotted the woman not far from her car....where people had already searched, but apparently had missed her. Matt and his partner sped on their ATV following instructions being given to them by the helicopter. The woman's husband and his partner arrived first to find her already deceased. Matt and his partner arrived next. The paramedics arrived and determined that there was no sign of a struggle or injury, so they are assuming she might have had a heart attack.

Matt is having a difficult time, which is to be expected, but knowing that they helped the family find her after her being missing for almost 24 hours is helping. He is very tired and overwhelmed by the whole day. I'm sure it will take time....

Things like that really put life into perspective. The little things that bother us or the petty things we complain about....really aren't such a big deal after all.

It's Going to Be A Marvelous Day, but Aren't They All?

Whoa Baby! Today is October 4th....and a remarkable day in history! 58 years ago today.....my parents were blessed with a rather plump little baby girl.....ME! I can't believe I am 58 years old today. How the heck did that happen? I feel like I'm about 40...but then I guess that isn't possible when my daughter just turned 35 now is it?

I hope to do a Giveaway of some kind this week in honor of my birthday...so stay tuned.

I was up early this morning making a couple of signs for the craft show booth and then I need to run to Walmart for some more candy....it went over well yesterday...although I think Irv ate a lot of it!

I had insomnia last night. It could have been caused by the excitement of the craft show, but I really think it was the Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie from Chile's that I had for dessert last night....and I only ate half of it!

While I was laying in bed awake at about 11:30 p.m. my phone rang. It scared the heck out of me. Needless to say when I picked it up to see who it was it took a moment for my eyes to adjust....it was Matt. Then I was really scared....he doesn't usually call that late.

He was at the bar with some friends and his Search and Rescue pager went off! It said to meet at their lockers at 6:30 a.m. and to dress for snow and wind. He immediately left the bar and was on his way home when he called me. He needed to get his stuff together and get some sleep. He has no idea what the call is, but it's in a neighboring county about an hour away. He is thinking maybe a lost hiker....I told him good luck and that I will be hoping for a happy ending to the story! I will let you know.

With that, I am going to go finish my signs and get ready for Day Two of the show! Have a wonderful day everyone!

Search and Rescue

After many months of classes, my 26 year old son, Matt earned his Search and Rescue pager Tuesday night. That means when his pager goes off, if he is available, he will be going on Search and Rescue calls. I am so proud of him.

(For those of you that are new to my blog, Matt is a third grade teacher in Telluride, Colorado.)

Search and Rescue is a volunteer organization that works in conjunction with the county Sheriff's Department. They do exactly what the name says...they search and they rescue.

SAR emergency calls can cover everything from a skier with a broken leg, to a missing hiker, to a person falling off a cliff, to water rescues, to drownings, to a car over the side of the mountain. Sometimes they search, sometimes they rescue and sadly, sometimes they recover....and that is the hard part.

The team might use a snowmobile, an ATV, a truck, a boat, a helicopter....whatever they need to accomplish the task at hand.

SAR bi-weekly training sessions are open to anyone with an interest. A lot of what determines if and when you receive a pager is your level of commitment to the program. People that show up sporadically for training sessions probably won't be given a pager. People that attend session after session for a good part of a year...might.

The training also never ends. There are always new skills to learn and rescues to practice.

I know Matt will be a wonderful asset to the Search and Rescue Team...his level of commitment is unwavering in all that he takes on.

CHEE HOO Matti!

Search and Rescue

A few months ago Matt was asked if he might be interested in joining the Telluride volunteer Search and Rescue Team. At the time, he assumed that when you were part of SAR that when you got pages, you had to go. Being a public school teacher, he knew that wouldn't always be possible so he didn't pursue it. He was asked again and yet again. The last time, he actually started asking questions and found out that when you get paged for a call, you go if you can.

Knowing he could be part of the team made him start asking even more questions, but now they were directed at himself. Could he be committed enough to attend the twice monthly training sessions, which would go on for many many months? Could he wear a pager 24/7 and drop whatever he was doing to go on a call? Could he deal with the emotional side of this kind of work?

The last question was the only one he was unsure of when he attended his first training class last week. It will be many months before he goes out on a call, so it's hard to answer that one.

The first class was held in an airplane hangar learning all about helicopters. You never know what kind of vehicle you will be using for a rescue. It could be snowmobile or a helicopter, a 4WD vehicle...whatever it takes to get you to the scene.

You might need to find someone that is lost in the mountains, or help someone that has fallen off a cliff, you could be searching for someone buried in an avalanche, or even recovering bodies from a car that went over the side of the mountain. You don't know what awaits you.

Matt's feeling is that no matter whether you are assisting in a search or a rescue, you are helping someone. It might be a rescue where you save a life, or if you are retrieving a body, you are helping the family and friends of the victim put some closure on a tragedy.

Matt will continue to attend classes and I will update you from time to time on what he's learning.

Speaking of avalanches....they scare the heck out of me, but I am also in awe of them. I can watch videos of them over and over and over again. Kind of like a video of a tornado. It's like I can't believe what I am seeing. Here is a video of a controlled slide. Often times they will create man made avalanches when conditions become unsafe on the mountain. This is in Telluride where Matt lives.