A Reunion, A Good-Bye

Funny how things happen sometimes. On the same night that we were fortunate enough to have Erin and Lotsen back in town, we had to say good-bye (for now) to a dear friend – Mike Waide. Erin and Lotsen were in town as part of a vacation, and they stopped back here for the first time since moving to Seattle 2.5 years ago. With their return, it proved to be the perfect time to get the Columbine Family back together…Ahna, Mary, Jennifer, Tori, and Erin all lived together before life started taking them apart (you know: marriage, jobs, etc).

We met at City Park in Denver for a picnic and some music…every Sunday night in the summer there are free jazz music concerts in the park. We all got there early (like 2 hours pre music) to get a place and to have some quality time as a group before it got too late. It was special to see everyone and to catch up, but it was especially special to see everyone together again….almost like it’s still going on – with the addition of a few more people.

I had to leave the party at City Park early to get to the party in Castle Rock. This one was a little different, as we were saying so long to Mike Waide. He is moving on to a new opportunity with the Valdez, AK fire department, and we had a little going away celebration for him. It was a lot of fun to relive past stories – Mike started at the CRFD about a month before I did, so we have known and worked with each other for 10 years now. It’s always bittersweet to see such a good person leave, mostly because I know that the department won’t be better off without him, and he is a great friend…but those are selfish reasons, and for Mike, it’s time. I know that intellectually, but there is a large part of me that’s really sad to see him go. Oh well, guess that I will have to plan a visit to Alaska sometime soon….