Back to life in Websta

Knowing how often I poke fun at our crazy communities, I'm sure some of you might be a bit skeptical when I say that I'm so glad to be back home in Websta. But it's true! For all the misgivings we have, we have even more reasons to be glad we live right here in this little corner of the world.

The first one that comes to my mind is... we're not on fire!

Need more? We're not in Colorado Springs, CO, where it's 104 degrees in the shade with 45 mph afternoon winds. Half of our town is not evacuated with no place to go. There's not an extreme fire warning fueled on by an equally problematic two-year severe drought.

Still not convinced?  Contrary to our Masshole reputation we have very friendly and compassionate people living right here in Massachusetts. There's a big beautiful ocean only an hour away and we have fall landscapes that make everyone else wish they could live here too.

Okay that's enough. I don't want anyone to think that I lost my caustic and confounding attitude just because I'd been to hell and back.

Yes, even though a few weeks early, we made it safely back home from Colorado Springs. As of this morning, Colorado Springs fire officials said the Waldo Canyon fire had burned 18,247 acres and was 98 percent contained. The fire has destroyed 347 homes and took two lives. Some neighborhoods are still closed because of the damage to homes and utilities.

On Thursday, the Colorado Springs Police Department announced it will offer a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the person or persons who burglarized 22 evacuated homes in the fire area and 60 evacuees' cars while they were staying at nearby hotels.

Authorities say they've pinpointed the fire's origin but haven't released details, including whether it was human-caused. However, the National Weather Service said there were no thunderstorms in that area on June 22 or 23.

I'm not saying we had a bad vacation because, Thank God!, our children, grandkids, grand-dogs and grand-frog are all safe and while they were evacuated for several days from the Air Force Academy, their home was neither damaged or vandalized.

"So how was the trip home," you ask?

Well, since we drove home, we luckily followed the deadly storm that brought 60-95 mph winds and thunderstorms from Kansas to Washington D.C.

Did I mentioned that I'm sure glad to be home in Websta? Maybe next year we'll have the grandkids visit us right here in Massachusetts. I think the two grand-dogs (they're Great Danes) and one grand-frog (not sure where he's from) can come too.

Before I go out and hug my trees and tell them how glad I am to be back home, I've been asked to provide an update on my weight loss.

Having completed all of the required steps of group and individual therapy plus a complex and multi-faceted medical evaluation, I'm still on track for the bariatric surgery. However, I've been able to lose 64 pounds without the surgical update. I've found that the skills I've learned in both group and individual therapy have helped me to face life in the fat lane differently.

I can't help but wonder that if these steps had been part of the process thirty years ago if my journey would have been different.

Hmmm, sounds like that old "could'a - should'a - would'a" thinking is still only a thought process away. I better go check the calendar to see when my next therapy session is before I hug my trees.