Minnesota Weekend Wrapup

I have been very busy with work and other things and just haven't had a chance to finish the last part of the weekend in Minnesota.

On Monday morning, I said goodbye to the Farmers and headed to Duluth. I did stop at the St Ben's bookstore and bought a shirt, a cap and a sweatshirt. Duluth is like San Francisco. It can be hot as you approach the city, but once there, it is cold. Rumor has it that San Francisco sells more sweatshirts per capita than any other city with the possible exception of Duluth. So properly equipped, I headed out for the port city.

As originally promised, I arrived at my hotel around 2:30. It was located on Canal Park which means it is in the heart of the area that has gone under massive updating in the past decade or more. Mary's sister Maureen aka Reenie and Tom arrived from their office about the same time I did. We had a great chat for a couple hours, talking about everything and nothing all at the same time.

We then headed out to the lakefront. I was prepared for the Duluth chill and instead it was actually warm, hot even. It seems that Duluth can get caught in a bit of an inversion layer that holds the heat in. Well, I was there on the day that had happened. Reenie's sons Morgan and Colin with his wife Erin arrived. We then headed over to another part of town undergoing a renovation and ate in an old factory turned cool (as in neat) restaurant.

When we got back to my hotel, the kids took off and Reenie, Tom and I walked the area. We were able to see a large cargo ship leave the Duluth harbor, go under the lift bridge and head out to the East and the Great Lakes beyond Lake Superior. There was quite a crowd of summer tourists just kinda hanging around watching the boats and ships pass under the lift bridge.

During our conversations, we acknowledged our loss and the way we miss Mary. Reenie was such a saint during Mary's last year with all the time she spent out here with us. And Mary truly appreciated it. So did I. The care, feeding and loving that Reenie provided was such a huge positive factor. I have found writings by Mary celebrating with great joy the reconnection with Reenie and truly wonderful meaning is had in Mary's life. It is so wonderful that connection did happen.

Tom and Reenie headed home and I headed for the sack. Unfortunately, although I was feeling tired, I just was not able to sleep. My guess is that the intensity of being with Mary's sister plus the lingering emotional excursions from the Farmers' weekend had my head and heart churning in a way I had not realized. Eventually, I fell asleep and I let nature wake me up. I did have to rush to grab breakfast before they shut down the food line so I did sleep. That is good.

I then sent messages to my sister (Sister Maureen) and to my cousin, Dr. Mary Jo to join me for lunch. We agreed on a place near Mary Jo's house and we met there at the appointed hour--about 1:30PM. We then spent the afternoon talking about this, that and everything. If you have read the blog about Mary's last year, you know Mary Jo was incredibly helpful in helping me with the funeral arrangements in St. Paul. It was good to see her again.

We then went to Mary Jo's house to say hello to her husband, Denny. We were inspecting movies her father, my uncle, had taken and were now in her possession. The film appeared to be in good shape so she was going to investigate converting the film to DVD and discovering who and what were recorded on them. All I can remember is that Uncle Coleman had a light bar that consisted of 4 or maybe 6 flood lamps and when he turned it on to record a movie, all we could do was squint. Which lead the adults to say to the kids, "Stop squinting." Uh huh. After a too short visit, it was time for me to head to the airport so I bid farewell and headed to MSP.

This was a really good visit. Spending time with my sister and then with her and our cousin Mary Jo was extremely good. Seeing Reenie and Tom and a couple of their offspring was a treat and something I want to do more often. The Farmer weekend was simply superb. There is no way to describe the warmth, loving and concern that group of 15 people expressed for me and well as sharing the loss of Mary.

Father Patrick's mass is among the most emotional experiences I have had since Mary died. Knowing how much she loved Father Patrick and how much his love and guidance had helped her in her life, I was absolutely breathless and tearful as he said the mass. And to be with this wonderful group of loving and true friends was truly spiritual and rewarding.

God Bless and Thanks to All.