My love for MN has been hard won. I was reluctant when we first moved here from Massachusetts and for so long all I could see was what was different than all that was familiar to me. Now I'm to a point where I can see the differences and appreciate them. Here's a short list of some of the things that won me over.
1. Traffic. Or lack there of. I can get anywhere I need to go in about 10 minutes. If I go somewhere that takes 20 minutes or more it feels like forever. Anyone reading this from eastern MA is rolling their eyes because 25 minutes to get just about anywhere is typical. I'm already totally spoiled.
2. Corn. While my 20 year old self sometimes yells inside my brain about Monsanto and all the evils of agribusiness, I really love that the girls not only see the change in the season through the leaves and weather but from the agriculture that surrounds us. Each morning on the way to school they notice the state of the fields- plowing, planting, growth, harvest. It's powerful. Subtle, but powerful.
3. Horse and buggy. It is not atypical to see Amish and Mennonite folk around town and just yesterday while on the freeway I saw a quintessential horse and buggy on an overpass. Simply beautiful.
4. JM. While living in Mass I met my very first Minnesotan. She remains one of my favorite people ever. If this state can produce her, it's a good place ;)
5. Minnesota Nice. I was reluctant about this because I am naturally skeptical about overly friendly people. While this can sometimes be downright annoying for this Yankee on a whole it is wonderful to have so many nice people around.
6. Auction-style livestock listings on the radio. While listening to the radio I was treated to a commercial for various livestock. Breed, weight, price, etc. all up for sale. Seriously awesome.
7. The Mississippi River. It's beautiful. I've only seen a few parts of it but it is truly an impressive piece of nature.
8. Ice fishing. There is something serene about looking out onto a lake and seeing still and silent shanties set up on the ice. Some with ATVs parked some with smoke coming out. A few lonely souls even on the ice without the wind protection sitting on crates. While there is no way I could see myself ice fishing...ever, I think it's pretty cool that some people are hard core enough to do it.
That's all I have for now. I will be posting more with pics soon since I know most of the people who read are looking for photos of the girls :)
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