Thanks to my mom getting the day off, Evan and I were able to spend a day up in Estes hanging out and playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends. It was almost certainly the quietest day we’ll have this week.

The next day I was lucky enough to get to go see one of my RYLA conferees give a presentation with another conferee on their RYLA experience. I drove three hours out to Julesburg, a small town on the edge of Colorado, to hear them speak at the Sedgwick County Rotary Club meeting. She read the poem she’d written for the RYLA Talent Show, a reflection on her RYLA week, and I teared up just like I have each time I’ve heard it. She is an amazing reminder to me of everything RYLA strives to teach and achieve and I’m so grateful to see her blossoming and sharing it with her community.

When the meeting ended, she gave me a tour of the town and we had a long opportunity to talk and connect about her passions and her goals for the future and all the ways RYLA has and will help her achieve those things. I truly feel so lucky to know her and all the fantastic young leaders that come from our program.

Wednesday was jam packed. After visiting my mom so Rock could see the place she worked and the cute babies she works with, we headed to Estes. A quick errand for forgotten items turned into a multi-hour adventure featuring a little “mountain climbing”, a little river walking, fall leaves, and visits to a small stores for treats like rock candy and honey sticks. An hour or so in the McDonald’s play place and a long visit to the library rounded out our afternoon before Kai showed Rock another new local park.

I don’t know what’s crazier, how busy this kid is keeping me or how much I’ll miss him once he’s gone.