Grateful Sundays

This week I am grateful for the Colorado River.

Source

It may seem like a strange thing to be grateful for at first, but I have so many memories centering around this river that it's hard to be anything but grateful for it.

Hat Dad is from a small town that sits pretty much right on top of the river, and though he moved away, when we were younger we used to go to the boat club there in that small town a couple times every summer.  I had a handful of cousins around my age (Best Cousin is only two years older than me, so we always had a blast together), and we had so much fun when we were there.  We would spend our days playing in the river, taking boat rides to the sand bars and beaches, floating downstream in our life vests, and eating lots of potato salad and hot dogs.  Our nights were filled with flashlight tag, hide and seek, some game I vaguely remember involving walkie talkies, and a camp out in a tent or two (not the brightest idea in a hot river town - we all woke up soaked in sweat).  I also have a vivid memory of Best Cousin spotting a snake and having a serious freakout moment - thank goodness her daddy, Uncle Firefighter was there to save the day!

As time went on, and everyone got older, we stopped going to the river as much, and we even stopped visiting that small town all that often.  It was bittersweet, because while it was exciting to be growing up and watching everyone go off to do new and exciting things, it was sad to see things change.

Lucky for me, my time at the river wasn't over!  A few years ago, Gardening Mom and Hat Dad decided to buy a small vacation home in Arizona, barely a mile from that very same Colorado River (albeit a bit upriver).

I love the memories we're making now at the river as much as I love looking back at the memories we made years ago.  I hope one day, when we all have our own little river rats in life vests, my cousins and I can grab our spouses, an intertube, and a beer or two and float back down the river like we used to.

Next week, I'll be opening up Grateful Sundays as my first ever blog link up!  Please consider joining us and sharing what you're grateful for!  The link-up will open early Sunday, and will stay open until Tuesday evening to give those of you who take a blogging break over the weekend time to link up.