all that's past is prologue...

Wow, a lot has happened in the Twin Cities since my last post and it isn't very hopeful, so I'll stick to last week's work trip to Milwaukee! I very rarely go on work trips; plus, for this one, Patrick tagged along while Beatrix and Ximena stayed home to (wo)man the fort (another thing that almost never happens), so it was notable. We got a late start to Milwaukee because we wanted to wait until the student march to the capitol that Beatrix was part of was over. But that just meant we got to stop in the impossibly Hallmark-esque town of Lake Mills, WI to have dinner and a beer at Sunshine Brewing , and got checked in to our Milwaukee hotel with enough time to run to Leon's for a frozen custard. The next day was long, as I walked through multiple historic buildings — the job is with a historic insurance appraiser, so my task is to go through and evaluate and take pictures of significant historic aspects. In this case it means I got to explore six very distinctive buildin...

It was great to attend Mayor Her's inauguration today with Ximena and Patrick! I knew I would be choked up. I'm so proud of Kaohly Her, and the campaign she ran. But it really hit me when the colors were presented, and the guy with the bagpipe led folks in, but at the end of the line was a group of Hmong veterans. And it struck me visually, instead of just intellectually, how much people originally from other countries have given so this country could succeed, and how poorly we have repaid them. And then Mouks hit it out of the damn park with a poem she wrote for the event, presented with Tish Jones and Maria Isa, that was so full of love for the city. And there were speeches and benedictions and all that, and then the oath of office (more tears, as her whole family was up there with her), and then Kaohly gave a powerful address surrounded by a group of awesome female trailblazers. And the three points she made were so incredibly telling: - Starting with protecting our city fro...

Christmas 2025. The Ordway for Jesus Christ Superstar on December 23. Beatrix's last Christmas at home. Just yesterday, seemingly, she was this old: All the feels.

I hope you all know at least one person as spectacular as my friend Marta. I fist met Marta when our kids were in elementary school, and I attended an amazing presentation session she gave at Expo (somewhat of a sister school to Randolph Heights) on the importance of Payments In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOTS). Marta's presentation was brilliant. I was in awe. I had known her tangentially through mutual friend groups, but had never encountered her force in depth and in person. You know, that feeling when someone you sort of knew turns out to be a SUPERSTAR? And then afterwards? Twitter was still a thing, and she tweeted something about similar about me! (still totally unwarranted, but I'll take it). Over these years, Marta has been That Friend, over and over again. The one who shows up with food when my dad was first sick, and a wrap when I broke my wrist and could not put on sweaters. But also who has reached out when she needed an ear, knowing that true friendship is reciprocal. We...

The most Saint Paul thing happened to us tonight. We decided to go out for a drink after both working the CJ show, and wanted to go to a Christmas-themed bar. My friend Kate had said we should check out the Eagles Bar over on the East Side where she volunteers, because they were decked out for Christmas and had drink specials for $6. Let me just point out here that the holiday bar at the Omni hotel in Eagan's holiday drinks are $25+, so we were sold. The minute we walked in, as we headed for some bar stools, we ran into our friends Barry and Kristen. Turns out our friend Jane Prince holds her annual holiday party potluck there, so all of a sudden we were crashing her party ("I *thought* I invited you!" mused Jane) and ran into literally scores of friends to hang out with.  Plus we had desserts.  Plus we ran into other people, like a different Barry who we had hung out with at the Kaohly Her election night party. His wife has been instrumental in revitalizing the place. He...

It's Early Decision time for many colleges and universities — Tufts University, my own alma mater, included. Beatrix did not apply to Tufts, and it breaks my heart just a little, while at the same time I know that she is on her own decision path and needs to make her own choices. Whatever school she picks will be So Damn Lucky to have her. She's had great support from her school in applications, and I'm so proud of her. SPA had college counselors when I was there, but it was different. It was a much more self-directed search. Kids applied to fewer schools. My class, the class of 1985, was an over-achieving brainiac class, and my 3.85 GPA did not place me high in the pack; also, there was a lot less of a focus on other activities than there is now. Beatrix was even horrified to realize I had to *mail* in my application, which I typed. I visited Tufts on a whim, of sorts. I had one college visit trip, where I accompanied my mom to Boston for a conference and did visits on my ...