Finding Nirvana

Nirvana: A transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self.

(In this particular blog, you will meet a few new characters from my crazy life ... Neffy: a valued and cherished employee and friend of my ColoAngel.  He has adopted me as his "Auntie Jenn," and I just love that kid!! ... Fave Hubs: ColoAngel's husband, and, consequently, my favorite husband.  'Cuz he's just that cool!! ... Grunt-N-Stuff: ColoAngel's American Bulldog, and soon to be Kiva's BFF, whether they want to be or not!! ... and last, but not least, Grace: One of Neffy's best friends, a former employee of my ColoAngel, another adoptee of Auntie Jenn, and a klutz in the purest sense of the word.  I used to think that I was a accident prone, but this girl puts me to shame!!) ... Ok, ready for the story??

I have discovered paradise!!  Ok, so I didn't discover it personally, but I was introduced to it this last weekend.  Oh ... My ... Wow!!!  When my ColoAngel and Neffy first started telling me about this place a year ago, it sounded nice.  Now, having experienced the Lake House for myself, "nice" is probably the worst description known to mankind.  This place was Colorado Perfection!!!  It's not just by the lake.  The front door is about 20 feet from the shoreline of a small, satellite lake of Grand Lake.  (I say "small" but it's really not.  It's just small in comparison to Grand Lake.)  There was a fresh blanket of snow spread across the ice covered lake and white mountain ranges engulfed us on all sides.  The air was cool and crisp and I didn't give a rat's ass!!  The beauty and tranquility that overcame me the moment that I stepped out of the car was more beneficial than my last 4 Ketamine treatments combined.  It even made me forget about the moronic brunette with the New York license plates who delayed our arrival by a good 40 minutes with her inability to partake of the pull-off's for slower traffic on snowy mountain roads.  I'm pretty sure we topped out at 15 mph while we were trapped behind her.  We all said a silent prayer of thanks when she finally turned at the Winter Park ski resort ... and then I think we prayed for all of the other skiers on that mountain, but I was too busy flooring the gas to hear anyone say "Amen."

The Lake House is, in fact, a 4 story condo that is owned by Neffy's family.  3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen, a living room with a potbellied stove and flatscreen, and a deck that overlooks the lake.  As soon as we got through the door, Neffy went to work turning on the water pump and chopping kindling for a fire, as Fave Hubs and Grunt-N-Stuff unloaded all of our bags and food from the car.  My ColoAngel started slaving away in the kitchen, chopping potatoes, onions, and carrots to accent the roast beef that she was making in the crock pot ... aaaand then she put together a chocolate cake ... uh huh ... she loves me!!  I'm not sure what Grace was up to at this point, because I had found the deck ... and the view ... and my Nirvana!!  I couldn't think, I couldn't speak.  I was in awe of the majestic beauty that lay before me.  At that moment I wasn't lonely, I wasn't sad, I wasn't angry, I wasn't tired, I wasn't sarcastic, and I didn't have RSD.  I was one with the universe.  I wanted to hold onto that moment forever!!  <sigh> But life crept back into my consciousness in the form of Grunt-N-Stuff copping a squat right in my line of sight.  I giggled and then realized that I did, in fact, miss my Kiva.  She spent the weekend with my Porno Dealer (hats, people!!  It's not real porno, it's Jenn-Porno).  Of course I worry about her, but I worry less when I know that she's with him.

Being drawn back into reality, the pain crept back in too.  The roast and veggies were in the crockpot, the cake was in the oven, the car was unloaded, there was a fire roaring in the potbellied stove, and Fleetwood Mac was playing on the stereo.  We had forgotten to take innertubes up with us, but Grace had brought her sled/disk/thingy and the gang was headed to the nearest hillside.  I was still allowing my body to recover from the 3+ hour drive, so I opted to stay inside and be there for the cake.  It was going to need me ... to take it out of the oven and hover over it for a while.

When the parade returned, Grace was um ... covered in snow.  Not too surprising since they were going sledding, but somehow she had managed to sled herself off of the disk and rake her back down the only un-snowy patch of rocks on the hill ... and this was just the beginning of our 30 hour adventure.

Needless to say, my brilliance smacked me upside the back of the head again as we all sprawled out in the living room to watch an X-Men movie.  "I could finish my book here!!"  I am so distracted by life when I'm at the Chalet, that my writing has been sporadic at best.  But at the Lake House, there is no distraction!!  There is inspiration and motivation to write, but nothing to distract me!!  And if the book is any good, I can buy a damn lake house of my own!!

The mellowness of the moment had us all asleep before 10.  Actually, I don't think my ColoAngel saw 8 and I'm pretty sure that I didn't see 8:52.  It has been a looooong time since I've been that relaxed!!  I had hoped that the thinner, cooler air would have helped me to sleep better, but my normally interrupted intervals were definitely less frustrating knowing that I was surround by God's country.

The food was amazing, the company was hilarious, and the ambiance was perfect for 5 friends and a dog who desperately needed a getaway!!  And I can promise you that I will go back!!  Sooner, not later!!  I'm already devising a plan to try and rent the Lake House for a week ... like from a Wednesday to a Tuesday, to avoid driving among idiot tourists.  I will finish writing my book and this is the perfect place to do it!!  And this time the Keevster will accompany me.  If the gang wants to join me for the weekend part, that would make it even more perfect, but for now, this is my brilliant idea/plan and I have faith that I will make it happen!!

I have faith that I have found the Nirvana that I so desperately needed.  I have faith that I will finish my book and make some money off of it, and if it's not enough to buy my own Lake House, I'll just keep renting Neffy's!!  I can't remember the last time that something made me forget about my RSD.  I have to get that feeling back!!  And I have faith that I will!!!