Colorado's Best Season

October--one of my favorite months--beckoned shorter days, but delightful weather... with a few freak snow storms, of course.

Anna and I got our fall fix with pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin patches.

We also took an afternoon drive to Wild Cider in Firestone, which has a fantastic cider garden overlooking the orchards and Front Range. A week later, a friend from work joined me at Lakewood Cider Days. My brewery count is currently at #63 after hitting Zuni Street Brewing Company and Black Shirt Brewing Co. in RiNo.

On the 19th, I officially "graduated" from PT. After eight months of therapy, the team had became my second family--one that helped me through my worst. It was an emotional day of realizing how far I'd come, though I felt equally ready to move forward. Despite this milestone, I am still many months away from being "100%." I intend to continue knee rehab on my own, focusing on quad strength and smoothing out my running form. Motivation is rooted in my goals to return stronger than my former self, complete a triathlon, and continue pursuing a military career.



















This month also marked my one-year work anniversary at Omnicare. Originally, I only planned on staying a few months until I left for the AF. Now, however, I have a deeper connection with my colleagues and with the knowledge and skills required of a long-term care dispensing pharmacist. While I do not plan to spend the rest of my professional career there, I do appreciate the opportunity to learn and grow as I have. In fact, I was recently recognized by my boss in front of the entire pharmacy for my hard work! Of course, it's not sunshine and rainbows all the time; a tight payroll budget means less hours for part-time employees. As a result, I've been spending more time in my backyard--Cheesman Park.

My biggest challenge at the moment is accepting that I cannot continue to wait around for things to happen. Normally, I make a goal and set out to achieve it. Eight months ago, however, the vision that I had created for my future was turned upside down within a few seconds. Ever since, I've pictured myself trapped in limbo, where my life is indefinitely on hold. I continually put things off because I never knew where I'd be in a few months. It seemed pointless to search for jobs, plan trips, or commit to events far into the future. All of my focus went into getting back in shape, but the rest of my life remained stagnant. My wise mother, however, has proposed an alternative perspective. There will never be a perfect moment to do something, where the stars align and nothing stands in your way. Instead, you have to make stuff happen. We may not be able to control everything that happens to us, but we can control our decisions. I'm still hopeful for a career with the AF, but I can't sacrifice living my life until I find out if and when that will happen. So I've decided to make stuff happen... starting with a get-away trip to Arizona!