A walk in Minneapolis

As I walked the streets of downtown Minneapolis, early morning urban life hummed around me. People sat under the emerging sun with their coffees, young families and tourists appeared around corners, the Metro train streamed by and we all walked under the tall, shimmering buildings. The many al fresco rooftop and dining establishments were quiet, the hotel traffic was busy and downtown street life started picking up.

I soaked up the mostly unfamiliar street scapes, glowing restaurant signs, quiet skyways and small green spaces nestled into the neighborhood.  I got lost as I walked by pigeons and more quiet streets and I walked past Twins fans and visiting Cubs fans and the Target center loomed off in the distance.

Our weekend involved pushing a stroller through the rough and tumble neighborhoods on the way to Target Field. We checked the stroller, grabbed some beers and found my family in the stands. We cheered. We sweat. We ate peanuts. Some of us scored.

 We walked to Hell's Kitchen for a great meal, a nice band and good atmosphere.

photo courtesy of ehearts

 We walked over the Arch Stone Bridge for a music festival in the Mill District. 

We strolled under the hot summer sun.

The Minneapolis streets had made me nostalgic for the streets of Chicago. The streets I had walked and walked and walked when I was growing up. "How could anyone live 2 hours away from Chicago and not visit the city?" my dad would muse when we were growing up in rural Illinois. We would walk up and down Michigan Avenue, up and down State Street and down by the lakeshore. This instilled a love of Chicago, a love of big cities and a love for walking. 

Joseph Campbell talks about  having a sacred space "a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is a place of creative incubation. At first you might find that nothing happens here. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen." At first I thought a sacred space had to be a physical location but a sacred space is anywhere or anything that makes you feel free. The most recent Humans of New York post on Facebook was a picture of a 93 year old woman in her walking shoes saying:  "If you force yourself to go outside, something wonderful always happens."

Great childhood experiences settle deep in your memory banks. The best times with my husband and the kiddos all revolve around some type of adventure, a small road trip, a bike ride or just being on the move together, in sync.  As a newer foster parent, I often look at the little person in our care and want that for her. A bank of nice childhood memories to give her a good start.

 My dad had gone to the effort of coordinating the entire Minneapolis trip, getting hotel rooms and baseball tickets. He ended up missing the whole thing because he wasn't feeling well. But I experienced the gift he had given us as we walked those streets. My first thought as we left the city was "How could we live 2 hours from Minneapolis and hardly ever go?" We'll be back.