...hard to come by.

This little peanut was given to me (I'm afraid upon my seemingly desperate request) from a dear Mankato friend.  Plants seem to be the one possession not on the purging block lately.  Because I'm not quite ready to reveal where we'll be headed (for fear of jinxing it), I spend this post fully realizing what I will be leaving behind.

The last decade of my life, amounting to more than 1/3 of my total life, has been spent right here in Southern Minnesota.  If you are a follower of my blog you'll recall the love/hate relationship I have with this geographical region; I'm sure not unlike many of you, feeling trapped in the wrong city at the wrong time.  Is it always right before you leave that you realize you were in the exact right city during the exact right times?

With a few tears, I realize that it is here, where I became a wife, a mother and an ever-grateful pet owner.  In these county lines we've received priceless education that will carry us for careers and promotions to come.  Perhaps most importantly it was Saint Peter and then Mankato that introduced me to college friends who have watched my metamorphosis without judgement, and life friends that I never thought I could meet.

Because I never count my chickens before they hatch, I am now counting my blessings, that have hatched and never fled my nest.  To dear friends and places...what if I never would have met you?

Today could be the first day of a beautiful Minnesota spring.  +40 degrees makes this (formerly) Southern Minnesota girl real happy.  Axel and I shared the most lovely picnic under a blanket on our balcony for supper.  I'm not sure if he was ecstatic because his mom finally did something cool by him (it's been a long stressful winter), or if there's something Minnesota sun holds over Florida sunshine.

One of the biggest things I'll have to move this time around is my heart.  Good friends and times are hard to come by.  Despite pressure from the oil industry, my car will certainly have many "friend miles" in the future.  That's alright by me.  As for the plant?  She'll make the move.  Hopefully when restored to a radiant version of herself, I'll convince the original owner to come up for a visit to claim her.

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