A perfect summer weekend in October

A perfect summer weekend in October

The Midwestern summer can be very maternal, as evidenced by this past weekend. She leaves because she has to, thanks to that whole circle of life thing. But, she checks back on us every now and then, to make sure we’re doing ok. As summer saw, when she swooped into autumn these past few days, [...]

Stillwater runs deep and I did too

Stillwater runs deep and I did too

I jogged from Minnesota to Wisconsin last week, which was not nearly as impressive as the town from which I launched my little jaunt. Stillwater, the birthplace of Minnesota, lies just across the Wisconsin border. A river town, it’s full of history, wit and ice cream. How could you not love a town that has [...]

Aunt-icipation and a wedding shower hosted by the Little Girls

Aunt-icipation and a wedding shower hosted by the Little Girls

We've been calling my sisters the Little Girls for more years than they'd care for me to repeat. Born three years apart, the two youngest girls in our family shared a room (and even, for a few years, one double bed). They wore matching clothes until Kathy, the older of the two, put her foot [...]

Jump around! Jump around!

Jump around! Jump around!

Joy exploded like a fireworks encore when we all finally got together to celebrate the marriage of our son Charlie and daughter in-law Tara. Patience, planning and expert production resulted in this cool juxtaposition of a gorgeous pastoral ceremony and an elegant, hopping dance floor that throbbed with memories and fun. We were all so [...]