An unsettled routine
Early fall had come to the high country and the CMC Timberline Campus. The aspens were beginning to change, and the Colorado sky had taken on its famous autumn deep blue. Occasionally the high peaks were graced with a dusting of snow. The excitement of the new school year was transitioning to the full swing of the academic semester.
Harrison was enrolled in the two welding classes, Oxyfuel Joining Processes and Basic Shielded Metal Arc. He also was in Academic Literacy and Success, and the College Experience. With the addition of the Academic Writing Skills class, Harrison’s academic load now added up to 15 credit hours. Originally we had imagined he would take six credit hours, spend a couple days on campus and run cross-country on a disability waiver. This had gradually panned out to a much larger challenge.
Two of his courses were with Kelli McCall. Kelli had a calm way of dealing with Harrison and an understanding of his learning differences. Ironically when Mary and I had previously lived in Leadville, Kelli’s family were neighbors and she would have been about 11 years old — now she was one of Harrison’s professors. Kelli also had grown up to become an endurance athlete — cross-country skiing in long-distance events like the American Birkebeiner and Leadville Loppet, and participating in local events like the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike, and later the Silver Rush 50 Run and Silver Rush 50 Bike.
There was very little homework in the welding classes, just a couple of videos to watch and some measurement and math exercises. The Academic Literacy class required reading and writing. Academic Writing Skills helped him with these assignments. For the College Experience, Harrison chose to start a campus choir club as his class project.
I would occasionally get reports of problems . . . Harrison had a screaming fit outside the library. Harrison had a meltdown at cross-country practice — he would often not understand the more complicated interval workouts involving calculations of time and distance while running hard. He was singing loudly in the hallway of the residence hall. I’d hear about an outburst in the cafeteria, or the dorm. There was an overriding message was that he was taxing the support system of the college, faculty, his teammates and friends.
These unwanted behaviors were largely not something he could control. I began questioning whether it was worth it to put him, myself and everybody else through all this. Was subjecting fellow students and his professors to his behaviors worthwhile? Was he distracting from the learning environment, or perhaps adding something to it? Clearly he was learning, and gaining some independence.
I was also forming friendships with some of Harrison’s teammates that I never could have imagined. I was Harrison’s dad, and old enough to be their grandfather. I sometimes ran with them at practices, and occasionally ate with them in the dining hall. In particular Nate and I always had a lot to talk about. We often had long discussions about music, football, clothes and popular culture. He also was my go-to source after incidents with Harrison, and we had many philosophical discussions about the situation. Once when I was struggling with this he told me, “I wouldn’t want to be on a college campus where Harrison wasn’t welcome.”
This simple statement steeled my resolve to keep on going.
My schedule settled roughly into a routine. Typically I’d leave cross-country practice in Westcliffe on Thursday evening and head to Leadville. I’d stay over that night, accompany Harrison and help out with practice on Friday morning. I’d bring Harrison home that afternoon. There was always lots of laundry and other gear to pack back and forth from the dorm. Over the weekend he’d work on homework and do his running workouts. Then Sunday night we would head back to Leadville.
I would stay over Sunday night, then leave Monday after getting Harrison set up in his room for the week and sometimes meeting with faculty. Typically I would take Harrison to the City on a Hill coffee shop in town before heading out. With coaching cross-country in the fall, I would sometimes be racing back to Westcliffe in time for practice at 4 p.m.
Even when I was back home during the week I didn’t feel exactly free. Harrison called often, needing help with his school assignments, planning out his day, or finding his clothes, running gear or welding equipment. Quite often I found myself tutoring him over FaceTime. We also used this app to help him dress appropriately for class or get ready for cross-country practice. Sometimes we would use it to help him find things in his dorm room. This might include anything from his welding hat or gloves, to his wallet. Selecting the proper shoes for the particular workout plan was easier over video, as was choosing the appropriate clothes for the day’s weather, which now was trending much cooler at 10,000 feet altitude.
Nights in the dorms were an adjustment for me. The room was a tight space. There were two beds. Two desks. Two closets. A bathroom. It reminded me of camping. Actually, with internet, electricity and running water, and a little five-cup Black and Decker coffee maker, the arrangement really was more like “glamping.” It was at once a cozy and unique setup for a college student and his dad.
At first we had the twin beds set up each with the foot toward the window. As time went on we changed the setup, placing my pillows near the window. I liked this as I could open the window and the fresh mountain air would stream through. We could face each other to go over assignments, talk before turning out the lights, or discuss the day ahead while drinking coffee in bed in the morning.
I joked with friends about dorm life being preparation for the nursing home but the truth was I actually was enjoying this change of pace. I would often lay back in the twin bed and ponder this odd existence while listening to Harrison drift off into a deep breathing pattern. Listening to him sleep brought a comforting feeling. I was there and he was safe. For now anyway. There was always the larger question of how this would all play out.
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