Clinging to a Minnesota Spring
“Often as I trekked along the snow-covered roads during my walks I wondered, ‘What keeps me in this frigid, gray winter state?’”
“Often as I trekked along the snow-covered roads during my walks I wondered, ‘What keeps me in this frigid, gray winter state?’”
Over the years, my family’s lives have moved in new directions and we seldom are able to come together in one place. . .The true gifts of Christmas are love for each other, hope in times of darkness and keeping the memories of those we love wrapped in our hearts forever.
Kate Sullivan has learned a lot about herself as a woman and as an artist. She’s dedicated to preserving the fiber art processes of spinning, weaving and rug making that have been a tradition in the small town of Afton for generations.
My father, Harold Elleson, had all the virtues expected of a husband and father in Minnesota in the 1940s: he was loving, steadfast, dependable, faithful. His was a hard-luck life, and, like Minnesota fathers back then, he shouldered his burdens without complaint.
In which the author tries to placate the Change Lioness with convincing excuses for staying put.
Afton, just fifteen miles east of downtown St. Paul, is a step back in time. Afton has no shopping malls, fast food restaurants, or stoplights. On a normal day it has very little traffic. Well, a traffic jam might happen if more than three cars arrive at the post office at the same time.
Tip No. 7: Invest in a high-powered electric blanket. Before retiring, crank the dial to “high." Wait two hours. Pull on your flannel pajamas and socks. Crawl under the covers. Snuggling and hot sex optional, but highly recommended.
Why would a Mounds View High School classmate invite me to a mini-reunion after nearly 50 years? Most of the ladies on the list were cheerleaders, honor students, and class leaders. But my lack of fashion sense and my incessant studying had definitely qualified me for the “out group.”
Standing in my bedroom, dressing for my retirement party, I heard a tiny voice filtering down the hallway and through the door. I hobbled into the living room; my eyes landed on a petite lady, dressed in a blue suit, relaxing in our swivel rocking chair. She smiled at me. My first thought was, “Oh my God, that’s my future mother-in-law!”