Let her Go

 

Let her Go

I woke up and rolled off my mattress. I looked over to the oven clock to see the time. 9:30… I heard Arden moving around in her room. 

We got up, ate breakfast, and get ready for our hike. We drove about an hour to a place called Lily Lake. The water was crystal clear, and it was surrounded by these huge mountains and rock formations. We climbed the mountains and rock formations until we got the tree line. I was behind Arden for most of the time so I got to the top about 30 seconds after her.

“Mitchie,” she said, “stay right there!” She pulled out her phone and started snapping pictures of me, with the mountains in the background.

After about 30 minutes of admiring everything around us, we returned to the car. We drove home, and decided to go out for dinner. We walked to an Italian restaurant that was down the street from Arden’s apartment.

We sat down an ordered drinks. I forget what the official name for it is, but I got something with vodka in it…. a lot of vodka in it. I am naturally an open book, but because I was a little tipsy, I was even more so. Arden and I started talking, and she asked me a question she has been asking me for years. “So any new girls in your life?”

“Ha!” I exclaimed, “No.”

“What about that one girl you told me about?”

“What one gi… oh from work! Yeah, that's not going to work.”

“Why?”

“Cuz it never works.” Arden asked me a few questions and was able to figure out what the problem was immediately.

“You're still stuck on S.M!”

“No, I'm not!” I exclaimed trying to deny it.

“Mitchell, she's your screensaver.” We look at each other and laughed awkwardly. “Are you doing ok?”

“Yeah,” I said, “I just can’t let her go.”

We talked for a couple hours about this. She listened and was very supportive, even though S.M. passed away nearly 10 years ago. At the end of the night, I asked Arden what I should do. She suggested that I start slow. Maybe just change my screensaver on my phone. I took her advice and I changed my screensaver to a picture that she had taken when we were on the hike.

I know that no matter what I do I'm still going to love S.M. and I wouldn't want it any other way, but I know that's unhealthy to hold on to her. I know She understands that I have to let her go, and I hope that I can move on. 

Have a Greattastic day

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

When Plans Get Cut Short

When Plans Get Cut Short

“Arden,” I said into the phone, “turn around!” She looked away from the baggage claim, and she saw me. We hugged and jumped up and down because we were so excited to see each other. We drove from the Denver airport to her apartment in Loveland, Colorado. We made dinner, had a little too much to drink, and then accidentally broke a few potted plants that she was trying to hang on her curtain rod. I haven't laughed so hard all summer. We then went up to the rooftop balcony and met her friend Alex, and his dog Kobi. 

We woke up on Sunday morning and Arden and I got in the car to go to Goat yoga. Goat yoga, for those of you who don’t know, is yoga except there are goats climbing all over you (couldn’t wait to experience this!!). We got there late, because of course, we were, so we decided to do it another day. We went back to the apartment and Alex texted Arden. He asked if we wanted to go on a little hike around 12. We had decided to go to mass at 5:30, so we had time.

We drove for about 15 minutes and we ended up in the foothills. We put on Kobi's leash and started the hike. To get to the trail we had to walk over a narrow bridge. On the right and left sides of the bridge, there were metal fences so people don't fall into the dam below. A good idea in theory, except that the bottoms of these fences were curled in, so walking on the bridge was very dangerous. My boot got caught under the fence and I tripped forward. I screamed, slightly panicked. Arden and Alex asked me what happened, and as I was explaining Arden, who was only wearing sandals, caught her foot under the fence as well. 

She kept walking as if nothing had happened, but by the time we finished crossing the bridge, blood was everywhere. Alex gave me the dog and ran as fast as he could back to the car to get napkins. While we were trying to stop the bleeding, an older couple came up to us and gave us rubbing alcohol and some Band-Aids, then they prayed over her.

Because it was my first full day, and because she really wanted to go, Arden told us that she would be fine, and we should continue on the walk. As the walk went on, we started to realize Arden was in pain because she started to shut down and she stopped talking to us, so we decided it was time to go home. 

We got back to her apartment and helped her change her bandage. She signed up online to go to the MinuteClinic and we got an appointment 15 minutes later. Alex was supposed to have dinner with his mom, and since I don’t drive he asked if Arden could drive on her own.

“Yeah I'll be fine,” she said, and we believed her until she said, “although I do feel like I'm going to pass out,” as she laid down on my air mattress. Alex took Kobi to his apartment upstairs and then he drove us. About 30 minutes, 7 stitches, and 1 tetanus shot later, Arden was good as new.

We went to Mass (though we were a little late), had dinner, Arden played a song on her violin, and then we started getting ready for bed. I told her goodnight and she said, “sorry today was a bust.”

“It wasn't a bust Arden!” I replied, “At least it wasn't boring. Sometimes your plans get cut short, you just got to go with the flow.”

“Hardy har har!” She said trying not to smile. All of a sudden we heard a crash, “What was that!” She exclaimed.

“I don't know, but with our luck, it's probably an armed robber….” We then both looked around the corner ready to fight for our lives….

To Be Continued...
J. Mitchie Ulibarri

The Blizzard Bet

The Blizzard Bet

As I have said before, I grew up next door to four girls. Their names are August, Arden, Aspen, and Arlo Anderson. We went through many trials but, eventually, they became my “sisters”. Very early on in our friendship, I learned about the “blizzard bet”. The idea is instead of betting money, you owe someone a Dairy Queen blizzard if you lose a bet. In October of 2018, Aspen broke tradition.

It was Aspen’s birthday, so August, Arden, Arlo, and I decided to paint her room as a gift. Aspen got done at the gym earlier than expected and she was heading home. We thought fast and their mom thought of something she could pick up from Kroger. While it was a good idea, I estimated that it would only distract her for 10 minutes tops, so I called mom and asked her to send me her grocery list as well. 

When Aspen got home we executed our plan. While in the car on our way to Kroger, I was incredibly excited, I just couldn't stop smiling. She saw my smile and she became slightly suspicious. She asked me what was going on. I started to stutter because I didn't know what to say. Then I remembered something that had happened the week before.

My dad owns an art studio, and when I was younger my grandma, who we call Nimba, would work with mom from my house. Even though mom has started working at the studio as of late, Nimba still comes to the house a couple days a week. That particular week Nimba and I had been talking about me getting my driver's license. She eventually talked me into it, even though I had been hesitant at first. I told Aspen the news, to distract her from the surprise. 

“When are you going to get it?”  she asked.

“I don't know” I replied.

We pulled up to Kroger and I grabbed a cart. At the same time, Aspen grabbed a little basket. Seeing a chance to buy the others at least a couple minutes, I picked a fight. “Aspen,  with the stuff your mom wants us to get, and the stuff my mom wants me to get it would be stupid just to get a basket!”

“Are you calling me stupid?” Aspen asked.

“Maybe…” I said sarcastically.

         

“Okay fine Mr. know-it-all, let's make a bet!”

“I'm game! The normal wager?”

“How about this, if we can't fit everything in this basket, I will buy you a blizzard”, she said, extending her hand. “But if we can, you have to get your driver's license before January 1st.”

I thought about it for a second, and I agreed to her terms. Watching her walk around the store and fit things into that little basket, was like watching someone play Tetris…I lost the bet. I was planning on getting my license like she said before January 1st of this year however, I did something stupid. I wanted to keep it a secret from mom and dad so I could surprise them. I couldn't get anything done because I couldn't get to the BMV on my own.

At the beginning of the summer the bet was brought back up, and technically I didn't uphold my end of the bargain. Arlo turns sixteen next March, so she's able to get her temps very soon. I decided that I would do the classes with her, and hopefully, I will have my driver's license before THIS January 1st ...more to come.  

Have a Greattastic day!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri