Blowing Smoke

Inspirational song: Breathe (Faith Hill)

The winds changed this afternoon, pushing the thick smoke from the Cameron Peak fire south again. Mid-afternoon I noticed the color of sunlight had become unusually orange again, and within an hour I started seeing reports of what was going on. This fire has officially become the largest in state history. It had been burning at least since the time of the Gambler 500 rally, which was August, I believe. As of the most recent update from the governor's office, it is still only 56% contained, more than two months later. Air quality was exceptionally poor over the whole county, and local social media is overloaded with pictures of orange skies and smoke. I follow a few local journalists on Twitter, and I noticed that one had retweeted a photo by a woman I went to college with (we were in the same squad of piccolos in marching band at CU). It was a panorama from a rural spot a little southeast of the city of Boulder, and it was so dusty and red, the journalist said, "if you squint you can see Matt Damon growing potatoes." (Reference to the movie the Martian.)

It feels like everyone I know is at or near their breaking point for stress. I have lost count of how many people are making a point of reminding their audiences to take a moment to just breathe. From close friends speaking to just me or a small group, to mid-level social media types, to leaders in state and national positions, I keep hearing the same messages: go easy on yourself, breathe, you can make it, etc. It would annoy me if it weren't so vital that we remember to do just that right now. Getting through this difficult moment in history is getting harder, but it can't last forever. The virus will eventually be beat. The economy will recover in time. The tensions between groups--well, I'm not sure how or when those will fully resolve.

I haven't gotten to spend much time with my bestie who moved to South Dakota a couple of years ago. She and I spent almost two hours on the phone tonight, getting caught up. This time it was my turn to gush about the little girls here (Dino and Saoirse), and she needed to vent about the heaping piles of stress she's going through. We swap back and forth who needs comfort for our crises on a regular basis. I think when this is all over, and we can safely travel again, her house will be one of my first destinations. Until that day, I guess we just take deep breaths and try to bear the stress of life as it is.

(Ash accumulation in a few hours. I had put so much energy into cleaning the car two days ago.)