Maybe we Midwesterners are naive, maybe we're just optimistic, or maybe we're in a constant state of weather denial. But long about March 1 every year, many of us have this idyllic vision that the weather will suddenly turn springlike and stay that way. Why? Good question. It's like we're Charlie Brown, our imagination is the football, and Nature is Lucy. And every year, we get suckered into running full steam at that football, and just before we kick it, Lucy (Nature) pulls

Ideally, I would read this essay to you because it has a “pace” that paints a picture of how my mind works, sputters, overcorrects and misfires. But lacking such a luxury (although maybe someday I’ll share a video of me reading it), I’ll ask you to read it quickly, as though these words are coming out of someone’s brain in real time and in a rush … which is exactly what happened when I wrote it. It was a cloudless day, not something we see often in the Upper Midwest in late F

I wrote this a while back, but it illustrates how I feel just about every day, especially lately. I want to share quirky, relatable stories that make people laugh. But somedays (too many, in fact), I feel guilty writing lighthearted prose when the world is so ... heavy. So today, I'm reposting this piece, which the conflict between what my mind wants to write and what my soul needs to share. Hopefully, next week I'll be in a place that feels more lighthearted and quirky. And