Author Archives: colleendown

Arizona River Runners, our river outfitter, did an amazing job of sending out information to prepare us beforehand for our trip. Early on, I received the pamphlet, How to Prepare as a Senior Citizen! So I faithfully hiked around my … Continue reading →

Floating down the Colorado river, time quickly began to fold back on itself. Within just a few miles, I was entering Marble Canyon, named by the man with one arm who had first explored these waters in 1869, John Wesley … Continue reading →

We fell in love at Provo Craft. We had been together for a long time already, but the fall in love part happened on a corner, in a brick building on Center street. It had been a long relationship…twenty years … Continue reading →

The first time I read the article, The Last Children of Down Syndrome, I had the same visceral gut reaction as many others who may have just skimmed over it, “What?? Don’t the people of Denmark know the blessings that … Continue reading →

I was seventeen, a senior in high school and flying cross country to visit my dad and stepmom for Christmas vacation. I had a layover in Chicago. The times were so different then, no TSA, people milling around the airport … Continue reading →

Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. The truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s … Continue reading →

They come, just like the ubiquitous hot flashes of middle age springing out of nowhere. They are as unexpected as the minutes of intense heat- rising and burning away the dross of guilt, regret, mistakes made during the childbearing years. … Continue reading →

The yellow legal pad is open on the table. The opening paragraph seemed pretty good, rough, but I had what I thought was a good opening line. “What are you afraid of? My spouse practically yelled the words at me … Continue reading →

There is a lot of talk these days about the definition of marriage. Even Supreme Court justices have been confused as to its meaning. Perhaps, like light, it can never be fully defined. Is it a wave or is it … Continue reading →

I don’t remember the first time I heard the words, “Play nice,” but I am sure it was when I was toddling around the house. I vaguely remember being told to “Be kind” while playing with cousins in the sandbox. … Continue reading →