Progress Report, and an Ode to Duluth

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately; we are getting down to crunch time here in the Larson Household. In four weeks I will be quitting my job, which leaves us exactly one week to pack up all our belongings (we’ll be leaving the boys in daycare for that week, so hopefully we are being realistic about our timeline). Our house is officially rented out for a year starting September 1st! We have been somewhat successful in balancing enjoying-the-summer with checking things off the To-Do list. The deck is stained, Finn is potty trained, Lev is walking (this was NOT on the to-do list, in fact, I was really hoping he would hold off until AFTER our long journey was over), we’ve sold two truckloads of stuff on a friend’s garage sale, Matt’s library is mostly packed, and we’re edging closer to having all the things we can live without packed into the far garage. Needless to say, we have been experiencing “all the feels” this summer.

It all started in May, perhaps my new favorite month in Duluth; sunny, warm (relatively speaking, anyway), green bits of grass and leaves start making an appearance, and the mosquitos are still dormant. We spent much of the month just enjoying the great outdoors. We live

on a hill, and most evenings we made the short, steep ascent to the top of the hill where the view is uninterrupted wilderness; hilly forests and Lake Superior. Frogs peeping, birds trilling, chipmunks chattering. Sigh. We’re really going to miss this.

And then June; the mosquitos hatched and they weren’t as bad as we remembered. A couple of nights a week we enjoyed another favorite spot: Brighton Beach. The boys love throwing rocks in Lake Superior (or trying to chew on them), the swings, and making “snow” angels in the sand. Waves lap or crash on the shore, and wind rustles the leaves. Sigh. We’re really going to miss this.

And then July; an evening with friends on Wisconsin Point. Sand in our toes, sun reflecting off the calm lake, children splashing, wild rice brats over the

bonfire. Sigh. We’re really going to miss this.

A week later my parent’s, on a whim, flew into the seaplane base on Minnesota Point. We met them down there and got some freshly churned ice cream at the little pushcart and then joined the Saturday crowds at the beach for a few hours. More sand, sun, splashing and relaxing while the grandparents played with the boys. Sigh. We’re really going to miss this.

We meet up with friends for an evening in Canal Park; the boys play together throwing sticks and rocks in the lake, walk the boardwalk, eat frozen yogurt. We visit grandparents and play with cousins. We camp with friends, hike Hawk Ridge, swim in Lester River. Duluth is such a great place to raise kids, and yet we’re leaving it behind.

But then the boys remind us that these are formative years, and they are our responsibility. We have the privilege of attending a church convention in Canada and get to learn a little more about our new place, the friends there, and how excited the workers are about our coming. And so we are reassured that we are making the right decision. Duluth, we sure will miss you.