Skip to main content

It had been ten years at least since visiting Minneapolis, the state of “10,000 lakes”.  Like kids in a candy store our weekend included new and “tried and true” places, in addition to being guests at our God-daughter’s wedding:

  • A Walk around Lake Harriott  enjoying the lake’s damp and concurrently fresh scent while a light breeze whipped into a brief rain storm;
  • Conversing with a ten-year-old boy gleefully catching fish off the dock, a quintessential Minnesotan summer activity;
  • Ringing the doorbell at the Frank lloyd Wright-inspired square house where we had lived, looking like it had years ago, white with light blue trim, when we brought our first-born home (except there was a well-integrated addition off the back. No more refrigerator in an alcove!).
  • Feasting on Polish sausage and cabbage from Kramarczuk’s on East Hennepin Avenue. Not fully recovered from the 2020 riots, East Hennepin was our commute to downtown.
  • Re-connecting with “old friends” as if it was yesterday.  They pretty much seemed the same (even if age had happened);
  • Swimming, boating, canoe-ing, biking, birding on Mille Lacs and Rum River. You can’t beat the  reliable “lake experience”.

Was it just memories feeding a strong sense of rootedness?

No! Despite the recent turmoil and need to address systemic racism within the police force, Minneapolis, the surrounding communities and the lakes are “solid” places. There are many neighborhoods, different cultures, access to nature and community services all over the state. Towns provide resources for Early Childhood Education, for example. The State’s park system is impressive, funded and big!  Citizens are valued.

What endears us to a destination?

Our “Places”…

Engender an “at home” feeling, rooted in familiarity. There’s certainty. Regardless of challenges, “All is well” and “All will be ok”. Wow.

Engage the senses, whether it’s listening to the lapping of water against a canoe or enjoying the scent of a delicious dish.

Can always be found in nature! Nature welcome us without  pre-conditions and offers a warm embrace. No wonder we fiercely protect our natural spaces!

Not “Our” Place

Sometimes a place we once loved can be incongruent with the person we’ve become. We discern what can’t be tolerated even amidst happy memories. This is no longer a place to go! It’s ok to leave the nostalgia behind.

Some Minnesotans have moved (high taxes; unsafe downtown.) Most are loyal, forever “at home” in their beloved state, grounded in serving one another and innovating for the betterment of all.

For the record, we’re forever enamored!

What’s your timeless place?

Leave a Reply