Happy Memorial Day to all. This weekend always serves as a gateway to summer here in MN. The weather is improving, the school year is ending, and it's time for summer plans.
This summer will be different for Dan and I as Erin won't be spending the summer at home. She is staying in Philadelphia and working her co-op job through the summer months. That was always the plan for this end of her junior year, but it is strange to make summer travel plans without her.
I know it's all a part of the process, but I am still learning to think of her life and plans as separate from ours.
Last month, Dan and I took our first vacation without Erin when we headed to the Oregon coast to play golf at Bandon Dunes. If you are not a golfer, you've probably never heard of it. But if you are a golfer, this place is a must see. Think of it as golfing links style courses like you would play in Scotland or Ireland, but on the U.S. pacific coast. I hope for more of these adventures with Dan in the years to come.
Dan and I spent the first part of Memorial Weekend up at Lake Hubert. We did a clean up weekend with some of Dan's siblings. Despite the time I spent cleaning mouse droppings out of kitchen drawers, it was fun!
I think the 15 months of pandemic isolation has reminded us all how much we need in-person human interaction. It feels so good to connect without the fear about a virus that has been the underpinning of all interactions in the last year. We gathered as fully vaccinated people (thank you, science!) and the conversation and laughter filled my soul.
June is here, and I am dreaming of more travel. My goal is to leave Rochester at least once every month for the rest of the year. I've already got June travel plans, so I'm off to a good start.
We will get back to Lake Hubert in August. Hopefully, Erin can sneak away from her job for a long weekend and join us for a few days. She's never missed a summer up there in her life and doesn't want to start now.
I'm feeling more hopeful and optimistic than I have in the past year. Getting out and seeing the world and its beauty - be it a golf course or a lake - is revitalizing. More of that, please, in the months ahead.
