Colorado flood

The aftermath of the Colorado floods: A Boulder mom’s perspective

From my second floor bedroom three weeks ago, I listened to flood sirens and nursed a stiff drink while my 2 year old clung to my chest. When they started, I was settling in for a quiet evening and thought I was imagining things.  It didn’t take me long to remember the insistent tone of the protocol we’ve heard each flood season since we moved here: “If you hear the sirens, GO UP”, and so I did. The city tests the sirens once a month and whenever they do, my 2 year old runs for the nearest warm body for comfort.  That night, I found the two of them huddled together, my daughter quietly soothing her little brother, half asleep herself.  Ushering them into my room, I felt grateful to have brought my drink upstairs with me. I didn’t sleep much that first night, concern...

Colorado floods: How to talk to kids and stay strong amid disaster

As flood waters destroyed homes and claimed lives in Colorado last week, Neil Rosenthal was reminded what it’s like to lose everything. The Boulder resident has twice had his home burn to the ground, and while his house on Flagstaff Mountain was safe last week, he and his partner were trapped for several days when part of their road washed out. The sense of loss can be overwhelming when a natural disaster ruins your home and possessions, says Rosenthal, a licensed marriage and family therapist who also writes a syndicated advice column carried in The Denver Post. “I come at this from two different angles,” Rosenthal said in a phone interview. “The first is from my personal experience and the other is that I’m a professional.”