Traveling Through Colorado and Utah, My Sons and Grief

Friday August 24, 2024

Dear Diary,

Tracey and I woke up at 5 AM. I finished writing my blog and posted it. Tracey went into the truck stop and when he got back, I went in and got some hot water for my tea. Angel woke up and was hungry. We filled up on gas, bought some ice for the coolers and drove into Cortez, Colorado. I sent Tracey my morning gratitudes: Good morning, beautiful man, I am grateful that you are going on this journey with me. I am grateful for good sleep. I’m grateful for cooler weather. I am grateful for beautiful mountains. I am grateful for amazing clouds in the sky. I am grateful for our love. I am grateful for you, Tracy. I’m grateful for your healing touch. I’m grateful to lay next to you while we sleep. I love you. 💚 💛

We stopped at a restaurant. Angel got a cheese quesadilla and I got a vegetable omelette to go. While I was inside waiting, Tracey sent me his morning gratitudes:  Good morning Sunshine🥰🌞🌻

I am grateful for beautiful scenery. I am grateful for  changes in weather. I am grateful for different climates. I am grateful  for road trips. I am grateful for this morning. I am grateful for happy vehicles. I am grateful for you Victoria, all of you, thank you for being you. I love you♾️💛💚🙏. Then he sent me one more once we got back on the road: I am especially grateful for the songs you sing to me🥰

Last night before we went to sleep, I sang Tracey 2 songs. The first one is a John Denver song called Annie’s song: https://youtu.be/RNOTF-znQyw?si=fKIOW6RFQMrOywOI The second is When You Say Nothing At All sung by Alison Krauss: https://youtu.be/1SCOimBo5tg?si=H-GKH4PnH_PPN8cf

We drove through the little corner of Colorado and crossed into Utah. Southern Utah is amazingly beautiful, with plateaus and pillars made of different colors of red dirt. We stopped to look at one of the pillars. A short while later, we  stopped again to climb up to an arch called Wilsons Arch. Angel and I had climbed up to it before on our way to and from Idaho but Tracey hadn’t ever been to Utah before or Colorado or Idaho. This was all new territory for him. 

We all climbed up to the arch and it felt great to be out of our vehicles and exercising. It was exhilarating getting our heart rate up and moving our bodies. I can only speak for myself on that matter but I could tell that Angel and Tracey and the dogs were having a wonderful time. 

The only other stops that I remember us making were for fuel and to let the dogs use the bathroom. I listened to the Debbie Reynolds memoirs that I had started listening to yesterday. It’s a great book. I have to admit that I knew very little about Debbie Reynolds but I know a whole lot about her now. She had a fascinating life. 

We arrived at my son Shawn’s at around 2:30 PM. I greeted my grand dogs, my son and my grandkids (Sam and Alex). I said hello to Alex and gave little Sam, who is 5 years old, a big hug. Shawn chatted with us a while but he was working from home and went back to work. Sam sat next to Tracey and talked to him for a while. He instantly took to him.

Tracey took a nap in the motorhome. Angel played downstairs with Sam and Alex. I took the opportunity to take a short nap on the couch. It was a great little nap and when I woke up, everyone was hungry. I ordered food for them and Shawn would go pick it up when it was ready. My son Scott arrived and then my daughter-in-love Bri got home from work. I greeted them and talked with them a few minutes. Tracey and I went for a walk through the neighborhood and down a country road. Tracey is great to go on walks with. It was very windy out and the wind felt invigorating. The view of the mountains was magnificent and I felt very grateful to be moving closer to my boys, my daughter-in-loves and grandkids. 

Shawn arrived back from picking up the food. Everyone ate, I had salad. Then we set up the game Catan to play. Angel, Sam and Alex played downstairs. Tracey declined joining us for the game and went out to the motorhome to rest. The game went on longer than expected and I was getting tired. When it was obvious Shawn was going to win, I proclaimed him the winner and we quit the game. 

Tracey, Angel and I hearted (headed) out to get a couple more driving hours in. Scott left right before us and we stopped at his house on the way to say goodbye to my grand dog Envy. She has a large tumor that nothing can be done for. She is old and Scott and Delany don’t want her to suffer. So she is going to be put to sleep on Tuesday. It was an emotional goodbye. We gave her a lot of pettings and Scott cried big sobs of grief. I hugged him while he cried. My heart goes out to him. Tracey offered him very comforting words as well. Tracey has a very compassionate spirit. 

When we left and drove for a couple of hours. We stopped for the night at a truck stop in Tremonton, Utah. Angel was already asleep again. Tracey and I went to bed and laughed and talked. I sang to him I Know Who Holds Tomorrow and watched a few of my old videos on my YouTube channel. Here’s one from 12 years ago: https://youtu.be/uuQC4PVKZcM?si=hVFQp9UcyFtwuPGQ  Tracey did healing touch on me and we fell asleep at around midnight. 

Thank you for reading my blog and being a part of my life. I appreciate you.

Love, Victoria 

P. S. This blog post was inspired by the Holy Spirit.