Missing Minnesota

It's not a big secret that I love Minnesota; it is, after all, where I lived for some of the most formative years of my life (ages 17-25) to date and it is where I met Simple Guy on our college campus, as well as my dear friends.

Leaving Minnesota almost five years ago was easy in some respects because I was moving back to my birth city where my family still was and where Simple Guy had relocated to. I took a position at a university that I was very excited about because it was in the field I wanted to be in and it was allowing me to move up in my career in higher education. These things made leaving easy.

But I left behind a lot, too- friends I love; a church I was growing in; and a great job at my alma mater being just a few things. I left behind the places and the people that were a part of my journey to knowing God more fully than when I came and nurtured and helped heal the hurting parts of me.

I have never been able to shake the longing and love I have for Minnesota and the life I used to have there. And some days, like today, I miss it so much that I get a pain in my heart and my eyes swell with tears. I know that if I were to go back, it would not be the same - so much has changed in five years. But I miss it just the same and would give just about anything to be there right now.

So where is all this coming from? I don't know. Maybe it's because we just had dinner with an old friend from Minnesota who is in town visiting. Maybe it's because as we were eating lunch together today, Simple Guy and I shared some things we are feeling and it points back to missing the people and the places we love in Minnesota. Or maybe it's because we are never satisfied with where we are and we always want something different. I don't know!

But since it is Memorial Day, I wanted to memorialize a place that is close to my heart and of which I'll always be grateful for.