Time to say goodbye

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Ashley Peterson

Good luck, Sum!

It seems to be that time of year.  Perhaps the quickly changing weather causes people to grow restless, or motivated for change. Or maybe it’s the back-to-school rush that makes people move on, take the next step, start a new chapter.

All I know is it’s that time of year where life changes, and I’m not the only one going through it.

Yesterday my parents moved my sister into college at University of Minnesota-Duluth.  After months of décor planning and roommate appliance coordinating, Summer left home (and littlest sister Hannah in tears) to start a new journey of college life.

I received a picture message from my Dad yesterday while I was golfing. (I’m always a little shocked when he figures out how to take a photo on his phone and send it somewhere.)

It was my mom and sister in Summer’s new dorm room, unloading some boxes and starting the “nesting” process — the way my dad has always described what my mom and I have done each time I’ve moved apartments.  Well, now it’s Summer’s turn to nest with Mom.

Later in the afternoon, Mom was texting me, telling me she was feeling tired and emotional.  I can’t quite understand the idea of sending a kid off to college after raising them all the years of their life.

“You won’t understand until you have kids of your own, Ash,” my mom said on the phone the other day. “But after raising a kid for 18 years it’s sad to send them off.”
But it’s part of a process. A journey. A growing up of sorts; all things that are scary but exciting at the same time.

Joining in on the Peterson adventures, I’ll be starting a new journey of my own, as this is the last blog I will be writing here at the Globe.

Yesterday was my last day as the Daily Globe Night Editor.

I have accepted a reporter position at the newspaper in Owatonna, something that came about quickly and fell into place in a jiffy.

I’m sad to leave my first job out of college, an experience I wouldn’t trade for any other, or one I will ever forget. I’ve made great friends, enjoyed coworkers’ company and learned a lot about writing and editing at a newspaper.

My apartment is mostly packed, waiting for the Peterson Moving Company (a.k.a. Mom, Dad and Hannah) to come help me move tomorrow.  I joked with them how they should invest in a U-Haul and open a moving business.  It was quite ironic both Summer and I needed to move the same weekend.

The best part is, I can pay the Peterson Moving Company in hugs and kisses … and that is cheap yet valuable compensation if you ask me.

As for my next adventure in Owatonna, I’ve chosen a new place to live not far from work and I have the weekend to “nest” and get organized before I start as a reporter on Tuesday.

It’s going to be a big change. But change is good, and I’m embracing what’s to come, even if it means saying goodbye to the comforts of this town, my job and my life here in Worthington.

So goodbye Worthington, I bid thee farewell. But I have a feeling you haven’t seen the last of me yet.

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Fearful of fall for what it forecasts

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Ashley Peterson

 

I love the summer months. I think I’ve made that clear by my profession of undying devotion to things such as camping, grilling, boating and baseball — all things that are summer staples. 

The beauty of autumn is often overshadowed by the doom and gloom of what follows fall … winter. BLECH.

But I can’t complain about how the summer season isn’t long enough, or how fall just seems to fly on by.  Instead, I try and appreciate the crisp cool evenings in September where jeans and a sweatshirt are perfect for a dusk walk around the lake, or the way the air smells when the leaves start to drop.

Although the autumn months seem to last no longer than the leaves on the trees, while the winter seems to have no end in sight, the changing of the seasons is always a good time to reflect on the months of the past as well as anticipate changes and plans in the future.

I know the official first day of fall isn’t until Sept. 22, (according to the website USA.gov, the first day of fall is Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010 at 10:09 p.m.) but I thought now would be as good of a time as ever for a top 10 summer memory list.

10. Little sister, Hannah, visits Worthington

During a weekend visit to my parents’ house, Hannah, 13, asked if she could visit me in Worthington for a weekend for some sister bonding time. I was flattered and also scrambling to try and remember what is “cool” for 13-year-olds to do.  We had fun running errands and baking as well as resorted to totally girly pastimes such as chick flick watching and pedicures. It was a lot of fun to have Hannah with me for a long weekend.

9. Learning to golf

Learning to golf has been both the most fun and most frustrating thing I’ve done over and over this summer.  Yet I keep coming back to the course. I don’t like being bad at something, so I have to keep practicing; but shanking my drives 30 yards straight into the ground or chipping a shot 20 feet past the green is teaching me a lot about humility and patience.

8. Family Dells weekend

Two weeks ago I spent a long weekend in the Dells with my family, both immediate and extended. It was a great time of laughter, story sharing and bonding over potlucks, Moose Jaw pizza and never-ending water rides.  Overall it was a wonderful reunion with all the family and a great excuse for a mini-vacation.

7. Fletcher wedding

When the last of my five roommates from sophomore year of college gets married, it’s both a reminder of how old (or maybe young) I am and how I’m the only one out of the six girls without a ring.  (No bitterness or hinting intended here) It was the Christy-Kyle wedding I wrote about a couple weeks ago that was one of my favorite memories of the summer. What better a way to celebrate a marriage as well as a great reason to all get together and eat, drink and dance the night away!

6. Camping up north

It was another summer where my boyfriend, Josh, and I were able to get away for a couple weekends and camp with his family and their friends up north.  It’s always a relaxing retreat filled with outdoor activities that we love to make time for and this summer the camping festivities didn’t disappoint.

5. River days with my family

One of my favorite things to do when I go home in the summer months is get the family out in the boat on the Mississippi. Thankfully I’ve crammed in two weekends of boating on the river (and one on Lake Okoboji) in the past month or two with my family and it’s been a blast tubing, skiing and swimming with my family.

4. Sister’s graduation/grad party

Sister Summer graduated from high school in June and the graduation and party was a wonderful way to celebrate her accomplishments and also a fun combination of family and friends gathered for the festivities.

3. My birthday weekend

Forgive me if this seems self-centered, but I have to admit my birthday weekend (which actually turned into a birthday month) was a great memory of summer 2010. This year’s birthday number 23 didn’t disappoint as I was able to connect with the best of friends and family throughout the month of May.

2. Twins games – especially when I got a ball

I could (and have managed to) write an entire blog about my Twins game adventures.  I love love love the Twins and going to games is quite possibly my favorite thing to do in the Twin Cities.  The best game I went to so far (Josh and I have tickets to two more in September) was May 22 when the Twins had a 13-inning victory over the Brewers.  In the pre-game warm-ups I managed to get Minnesota Twin Alexi Casilla’s attention, throw my glove in the air and beg him for a ball.  Next thing I knew, the little white leather-bound ball was being thrown in my direction and I jumped and caught the 2010 inaugural season Target Field baseball. Best. Memory. Ever … almost.

1. Random hangouts on a whim

As much as I love all these memories that include well-thought out plans and highly anticipated activities, it’s the every-day, spur of the moment, fly by the seat of my pants excursions that have produced some of the fondest and most hilarious moments of the summer.  And for those, I am thankful and continue to look forward to all summer, fall and winter long.

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Heat wave perfect for making waves

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Ashley Peterson

It doesn’t take a meteorologist to confirm the heat index these past few days has been somewhere between unbearable and melt-worthy.  Between temps reaching 90 degrees, the sun blasting its rays straight to earth and the breeze not exactly going out of its way to cool us down, it’s hard to make it five feet from the front door without breaking a sweat.

I knew it was going to be hot when by 10 a.m. yesterday it was already 83 degrees outside as I drove past a bank on Oxford Street.  Maybe we were being a bit ambitious, but fellow Daily Globers Mikey and Aaron and I were planning on teeing off for a round of nine. 

Upon exiting my car at the golf course, I found myself suffering from a severe case of insta-sweat before I even made it to the clubhouse to pay.  We stocked up on beverages (water and pop mind you … we did have to report to work eventually, not to mention it was 10 in the morning) and set out to golf in the heat.  We nixed the golf carts and trudged out to the first hole, not quite certain we were excited to walk the nine holes in the blistering heat.

The first half of the day went fairly well.  The imminent Prairie View Golf Links breeze didn’t disappoint and made the outing bearable by taking our minds off the sweat pouring down our backs (and most certainly the rest of our bodies.)

By the end of the morning, we were exhausted and parched, but pleased overall with the improvements we all made since we last hit the links two weeks ago. 

I’m a green golfer, only officially playing two rounds of nine so far.  But I can report that I improved by at least 10 strokes since two weeks ago.  And that makes me happy because I can admit patience is not one of my strongest virtues and golf is surely a test of patience.

Regardless of how we played, we had a blast and enjoyed spending the morning on the course … it sure beats sitting in the office! I guess working nights does have its perks.

Not a whole lot of heat relief in sight
All reports show the heat index will remain close to 100 for the weekend.  Whether visiting the Nobles County Fair or hanging out elsewhere outside this weekend, it’s sure to be a doozie with temps in the 90s both today, Saturday and Sunday.

I don’t plan on succumbing to the blistering heat on the links again this weekend.  Instead I shall beat the heat today through Sunday in Wisconsin Dells with my family.  I’m trading golf clubs for flip flops and water slides as the Olson Family Reunion III takes place at the Wilderness Resort.

It’s a tradition that started three years ago and each year I’ve managed to escape from school or work to meet the fam in Wisconsin for the “big outing.” 

Oddly enough, all of my mom’s family is in Winona except one sister and her family who live in Appleton, Wis. But even stranger is the fact that even though my mom, her parents and all but one sibling live within 10 miles of each other, it’s difficult to get everyone together for some quality time.

That’s what makes this weekend extra special.  My grandparents look forward to having their whole brood together under one very big resort roof.  All four kids and their families and grandkids and great-grandkids will be there for plenty of poolside pleasure. 

Although I’m bummed I’ll miss the fair here in Worthington, (nothin’ says summer like corn dogs and cattle barns) I am really looking forward to spending a long weekend with my immediate and extended family under the sunny skies of Wisconsin.

Who knows, maybe we’ll even sneak in a round of golf.  Mini-golf that is.

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For the love of baseball

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Ashley Peterson

Little did I know when I signed up for two fantasy baseball leagues how fierce the competition would be and how humbling the experience would prove.

I love baseball. I love watching it on TV or live at the ballpark. I enjoy watching ESPN and Sports Center to see the highlights from each day’s games. But that doesn’t automatically make me a professional fantasy baseball team manager.

This season marks my second year in an ESPN league with my boyfriend and a bunch of his friends. One new addition to the ESPN league is Daily Globe sports editor Aaron Hagen, who so kindly offered to fill the 10th spot this year.

Each team manager gets creative with his or her team name that usually coincides with a player on your roster. As for me, my team is “Princess Power “since I have Prince Fielder on my team (and since I’m the only girl, I had to get something girly in there.)

Being the only girl meant I probably seemed like an easy target for a free win. But I refused to give in too easily to the boys’ predictions. Now I don’t research stats and game history like some of the guys in the league, but I have gotten in the habit of looking up two-start pitchers as well as keeping an eye on batting averages and pitching stats.

Sadly, try as I might, I’ve only netted four wins on the year. Ashamed of my team’s standing, I will admit I am in last place. But that doesn’t mean the playoffs are out of reach for me.

The boys give me a hard time whenever I see them. My team is well built; it baffles all of us as to why I cannot yield more tallies in the “W” category. Although I have not given up in the ESPN league, nor do I plan on giving up, I have focused my attention to the Yahoo league I have joined with fellow Globe staffers Aaron, Michael and Ryan.

Again, I’m the only girl in the league and after taking Joe Mauer in the first round with the four pick, I figured it was only fair I named my team Mrs. Mauer. Fair? More like wishful thinking.

My Yahoo team has proven to be more victorious than the ESPN league (little thanks to first pick Mauer). I am in fourth place out of 10 and have put up solid scores the past two weeks as I make my move into the top three hopefully.

I love how baseball consists of 162 games over the course of the season. Aaron likes to remind me “baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint.”

After a frustrating loss in the league, he would quickly say how there were many weeks left to make more moves and tweak our teams in hopes of a win.

Well Aaron, let’s hope your tweaking continues as you’re 10½ games behind me in fifth place. Mikey rounds out the top six and let’s just say Ryan is the “Princess Power” of the Yahoo league.

Regardless of the standings, our fantasy baseball league has been a blast to participate in. We love talking around the office about our plans for our lineups and we chat about possible trade offers. It’s been a lot of fun and something we all can enjoy doing outside the office.

Now I need to wish Mr. Hagen good luck as we are dueling in the ESPN league this week. Best of luck to you Worthington Mini Mites! I predict Princess Power will threaten while swinging some hot bats this week.

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My world of weddings

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Ashley Peterson


Christy (right) and I ready to be bridesmaids in our friend Renee’s wedding last June 

It’s that time of year again. The time where couples across the country rush to the altar during the pleasant summer months, ditching their titles of boyfriend and girlfriend and plunging head first into married life.

In the past two years I have attended multiple weddings; many as a guest, one as a personal attendant, two as a bridesmaid and one as the maid of honor. It’s been an honor and a joy to be involved in various ceremonies and I would never turn down an opportunity to buy a new dress, have my hair done and dance the night away.

This weekend I look forward to attending my first wedding of this summer. Surprisingly I made it all the way to late July before an invitation to a nuptial of some sort.

My good friend Christy will marry her college sweetheart Kyle up north in Onamia Saturday at the beautiful Izaty’s Resort. Christy and I met freshman year of college when we were neighbors on the same floor in Getsch Residence Hall at Bethel University. It’s hard to believe how much has changed in those five years I’ve known Christy. I took my turn as Christy’s right hand girl in the search for “The One” more than once while out on the town or at an event at school.

It wasn’t until Christy signed up to study abroad in Europe over January term that we caught a glimpse of who would turn out to be her future husband.

I remember perfectly to this day coming home from my shift at Perkins and Christy calling me into her room. She was on her laptop, perusing Facebook. More specifically checking out this boy named Kyle, who had also signed up for the England trip. “Isn’t he cute!” she exclaimed.

Christy spent the next couple months preparing for the trip and making small talk with Kyle at trip meetings. She admitted she had a crush on him, and I couldn’t wait to hear the results when she returned.I left for my semester in Washington D.C. around the same time Christy went to England for the month abroad.

The call came in early February that Christy and Kyle had found love in Paris, both admitting their feelings for each other after weeks traveling and studying together in Europe. I wasn’t surprised at all. They were perfect for each other.

That day in February was more than two years ago and here they are, about to walk down the aisle.My July weekends have been booked with various parties for Christy’s wedding. First it was the bridal shower, then the bachelorette party and now the big day we’ve all been waiting for. After the bridal shower, I had the pleasure of accompanying Christy to the seamstress to see her try on her dress for the final fitting before she wears it on the day of the wedding. It took a long time and tedious finger work to lace the entire back of her gown up in the corset.

But the dress was amazing, beautiful, as though it was sewn just for her. I can’t wait to see the full ensemble of Christy in her dress with her hair and makeup done just right … not to mention those killer high heels she found!

What I look forward to most is how the wedding brings so many people together. Friends and family from out of town and out of state come home for the big event and it turns into one big party and reunion.What a great occasion to celebrate! Two wonderful people have decided to come together and merge families, friends and most importantly, their lives.

I am so happy for Christy and Kyle as they start their journey together as a wedded couple. I wish you both all the happiness in the world!


Josh, me, Kyle and Christy at Renee’s wedding

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A little love from home

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Ashley Peterson

It came in the form of homemade bran muffins and chocolate chip cookies.

Tucked in bubble wrap and folded in pink and purple polka dotted tissue paper was a little something from Mom. On top of the tissue paper was a note with my mom’s writing.

“Thought you might enjoy a little "love" from home! … Love you, Mom.” Short, sweet and simple. But yet so special.

It started with a phone call, someone wanted to be buzzed in to my apartment. Odd, I thought. The mail usually arrived by 9 a.m., much before I’m awake to take the call. But it was noon and the “Apt. Entry” contact on my cell was “calling” me. I answered and the other line said “Hi, this is Speedy Delievery.”

I thought for sure it was a joke, perhaps one of the sports boys playing a trick on me. Surely no one actually called themselves “speedy delivery” these days.

“Haha, very funny,” I said to the man on the other line in my apartment entry.

“No, this is Rob with Speedy Delivery and I have a package for Ms. Peterson,” he said.

Oops, this was not a joke. This poor man was just trying to do his job and here I thought someone was pulling my leg.

“Come on up, I’ll buzz you in,” I said.

Moments later the real Speedy Delivery man was at my door with a cardboard box in his hand. I signed for it and on his way he went, I felt a tad embarrassed.

Expecting my Target.com delivery of my new hairdryer, I quickly checked the mailing label to see my mom’s hand-writing and my parent’s return address. What a great surprise!

I opened the package and saw the homemade treats.

Not only do I love my mom’s bran muffins (although I’ve learned the hard way to eat only one a day) and her chocolate chip cookies, but it meant a lot to me she took the time to package them up and express ship them to me.

I was having one of those days where I felt far from home and all it took was a little heartfelt baking from Mom to make me feel at home again.

Thanks, Mom! You’re the best!


 

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Friendly competition not so “Taboo” for me

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Ashley Peterson

My weekend camping up north in Melrose turned out to be a great time away from all things stressful. It was filled with volleyball, games and tasty food/beverages instead of gossip, cell phones and television.

So my boyfriend Josh and I ventured up north Friday afternoon and met up with his parents and a bunch of their friends. The great surprise for us was Josh’s dad had already set up our tent. We unloaded the car and I quickly noticed a decal on our tent that read “100 percent water proof.”

Nice. I liked this tent already. As rain and thunderstorms were in the forecast for multiple days of the weekend, I was happy to see the tent at least claimed to be water proof. I told Josh I wouldn’t mind if we never had to find out if the claim was true.

When it rains, it pours
Sometime around 3 a.m. Saturday night I was jolted awake by neon flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder in the distance. I laid there quietly on the air mattress hoping not to jostle around enough to awaken the snoring beast (Josh).

But then the sky opened up and the downpour began. It was twice as loud as any of the distant thunders that preceded the rain and the sleeping gremlin twitched awake and asked me if it was raining.

“Yes, dear,” I responded in a somewhat annoyed voice. It was a question with an obvious answer and I was irritated (and jealous) at how he could sleep through such racket in our little nylon tent.

We laid there for a half hour or so, listening to the rain as the tent shuttered beneath the wrath of such heavy downfall. It was incredible how, regardless of the intensity of the rain, we remained completely dry as the tent cover completely blocked the water from entering our tent. I was amazed (and enormously thankful) the waterproof guarantee was actually true.
 

Let the games begin
During the beautiful (and dry) days up north, when we weren’t playing volleyball on the grass courts, we spent hours playing games under the open porch roof.

One of my favorite games is Taboo. The object of the game is for a player to have his/her team guess the word on their card without using the word itself or five additional words listed on the card.

For example, you might have a card with the word “watch” on it. But you cannot use the listed words: look, time, wrist, clock or wears. In 60 seconds, you try to get your team to guess as many words as they can.

Maybe it’s because I’m a “word person” or the fact that I’m ridiculously competitive, but I’ve always been pretty good at Taboo.

But so has Josh.

So most of the times, in order to keep the peace, we have to be on the same team or we get way too competitive and his parents have learned from playing multiple times with Josh and I not to split us up or things could get ugly. OK, not really ugly, but we have been known to shoot each other the evil eye when one of us out-words the other when playing Taboo against one another.

So here we were playing Taboo with Josh’s parents and some of their friends and other couples. Someone suggested we play men versus women.

Everyone obliged and the game began. The teams were mostly equal, and after two games the score was split, each team winning one game.

Miraculously, Josh and I were amicable enemies, playing against each other but keeping cool and not getting too overzealous.

Game three proved to be the most competitive game yet; the men and women each vying for the right to claim a victory and be Taboo champions.

It was my turn to describe the words. I knew I needed a big round in order to take a good lead over the men. As I started describing, the ladies and I were on the same mental wavelength and the cards kept flowing, my word count nearing six successful descriptions in less than the 60 seconds allowed.

Then I got a word that stumped me, one that was difficult to describe and even harder for the women on my team to decipher what I was failing to properly explain.

I started getting frustrated as I watched the sand drip quickly through the hourglass timer out of the corner of my eye. Time was running out, and Josh saw that I was growing weary beneath the great pressures of this game. OK, that is exaggerating but he knew I was frustrated and he made one little comment that surely was one I wish I didn’t hear.

“This is where she collapses,” I heard him whisper to his teammate.

It was a joke, poking fun of my instant hangup on this stupid word. I don’t even remember what the word was.
 

I tried not to let it get to me, but I was mad. I sat quietly and gave up on the word, not wanting to give up a point, my silence awkwardly filled the space as the timer dropped the last few pieces of sand into the bottom of the hourglass.

“Time!” one of the men shouted.

I had successfully described seven words in that round, a feat to be proud of — and many of the women congratulated me as we were comfortably in the lead after that.

But it was the frustration of the one missed word that kept me from rejoicing with my team over our success.
 

I shot Josh the infamous evil eye over his comment that I claimed was the reason I couldn’t finish describing my word. He cocked his head to the side and gave me that look of “I’m sorry” and said outloud with a little smirk, “It’s just because you are so good at Taboo, I had to do something so we have a chance to win.”

I smiled, unable to resist his cute apology and proud of the fact he admitted I was making it difficult for the men to win the game.

Thankfully, regardless of my one word mishap, the women were victorious in game three, and we took the title of Taboo champs and I learned a little lesson in humility.

 

 

 

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Storm, storm stay away … please?

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Ashley Peterson


The crazy sky last Friday night in Worthington

After the tumultuous weather we’ve had here in the region over the past week, needless to say I’m nervous as I check the forecast for the weekend and see thunderstorms in the future.

I’m planning on spending a long weekend camping with friends up north in the Melrose area. Calling a tent home for four days (and nights) is something I look forward to. Fending off thunderstorms and possible nasty weather behind a thin layer of some sort of tent material, not so much.

It was a hectic weekend and week working at the Globe, with the tornado stirring up the newsroom and the coverage ongoing far past the actual night of the storm.

My heart goes out to the families in Sibley who lost belongings, farms and homes in the storm. But more than anything, it’s quite a miracle no lives were lost, and for that we should all be thankful.

You see, I’m usually a storm lover. Give me some pretty lightning, a few booms of thunder and some rain, and I’m a happy camper. Well, not actually while camping would I be happy in storm, but figuratively speaking, of course.

While running an errand Friday night I stopped to take some pictures of the clouds rolling in and the sky turned into some fierce shades of orange and purple. Then the rain began, and I retreated to my car, soaking wet. As I drove back to the office, the hail started and the rain was so heavy I could not see where I was going.

I pulled into the gas station only two blocks from the Globe and took cover under the overhang, hoping to protect my car from any hail damage that might occur. The winds were so strong; the rain was flying sideways, parallel to the ground. I waited out the heavy winds in my car, untouched, safe and in awe of the power of the winds.

Once I got back to the office, all heck broke loose as we heard of the storms just south of us in Sibley, and we all know what happened from there.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have minimal encounters with severe weather in my lifetime. I remember a storm collapsed a giant tree just inches from our house when I was little. But the cleanup from that was simple and the remnants of the storm gone in just a day.

The closest I’ve ever gotten to a life-threatening situation happened when I was in grade school. I can’t remember the exact year, but I would say I was probably in second or third grade, and I was invited to spend the day at Whitewater State Park with a friend and her family.

This family was very experienced in outdoor adventures. This was just another typical day spent outside on the water, enjoying the great outdoors.

Or so we thought.

It was a day that started off beautifully, a hike, a swim, a cookout. It was the evening sky that brought more than stars and songs around the campfire.

We had no more than finished eating dinner when out of nowhere a horrible storm blew through the campsite. Almost immediately, the waters began flooding and we found ourselves in ankle-deep water, water that was quickly rising to knee-deep.

I remember there was no time to panic, but things seemed scary, and people were running around gathering their things, and more importantly, their families.

Thankfully we made it to the family station wagon, piled in more people (and dogs) than the car could actually hold and drove carefully through the high waters to a shelter a few miles from the campsite. We saw cars in the ditch and trees down over the roads as we made our way to the shelter.

At the time I didn’t realize how horrible a storm it really was, and how the situation could have been much worse had we not reacted so quickly when the storm began.

I remember unloading out of the station wagon and running for cover at the shelter, the family dog running ahead of us for cover. Upon entering the shelter it was complete chaos — families and animals everywhere. The stench was pungent, and the scene was eerie. With no electricity, the only light came from things like lanterns, flashlights and personal devices.

We spent a few hours in the shelter, until the storm passed and the ranger allowed people to travel again sometime past midnight. We left the shelter and drove home, and I was dropped off to nervous parents, as there was no way to call and tell them we were OK.

It was quite an experience, one I’ll never forget. Although we weathered the storm without any injuries or major losses, it made me appreciate how lucky we were to be home safe and sound.

Although my experience was nothing like a tornado, it’s events like these that make you realize how lucky you are to be alive and grateful for the life you live. I’m guessing the residents of Sibley would agree.

Let’s hope this weekend brings nothing but blue skies, warm sunshine and happy times for families around the country and especially the region who hope to relax and rejuvenate over the Fourth.

I’ll be hoping and wishing the same all weekend in Melrose in my little tent as well.

 

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Dear Dad, from daughter

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Ashley Peterson


  The three girls and my dad sledding in 1997

As I spent yet another weekend back home at my parents for my sister’s graduation party, I really took notice of how great a family I have. Not only are my dad, mom and two sisters wonderful, but my grandparents, aunts and uncles, second cousins, great-aunts, great-uncles and great-grandma make up quite the amazing group of family.

As I enjoyed celebrating my sister’s graduation with friends of my own that stopped by, it was the great number of extended family that really caught my attention. How generous and kind for so many members of our extended family to come from close by and far out of town (my uncle all the way from Canada!) for the second Peterson graduation party. (Mine being the first party five years ago.)

It just made me realize friends may come and go, and bonds between one another may change after high school, but it’s your family that is always by your side. It may have been more than a year since my sister has seen some of these people who came to congratulate her, but regardless of time or distance, family is always there to lend a hand and give a hug.

As Saturday’s party winded down and guests said their goodbyes and all that remained of the six different kinds of cheesecakes my mom made for dessert was graham cracker crumbs and almond slices on a platter, it was my dad’s brother from Canada who stayed until almost one in the morning reminiscing on the patio with my dad, two of my friends and I.

We listened to stories of their childhood, growing up as the only two kids in the family, two boys only two years apart. We laughed when my uncle told the story of borrowing my dad’s car and under strict orders not to pick anyone up on the way to school was busted that night due to a pebble left behind on the passenger floor mat.

As I sat on our patio late into the night by the glow of the Citronella candle listening to my dad and uncle exchange stories of their childhood and then tell stories of their own experiences as fathers, I couldn’t help but feel so thankful for the family I have and the closeness of our relationships.

I woke up Sunday morning feeling a little tired from the late night of chatting with family and friends, but eager to head downstairs and check out the selection of grad party leftovers. Two words: Delicious eating. Picking through the seemingly endless supply of desserts and various leftover salads, I forgot the day was special, Father’s Day.

My sister came downstairs and upon seeing my dad standing at the counter, greeted him with a “Good morning, Dad and happy father’s day!”I immediately recalled the day of appreciation for Dad and gave him a big hug too, thankful to be home and celebrating a weekend full of family interaction.

It’s hard to say when I’ll make it to Winona again, as June seems to be flying by and July doesn’t slow down at all. But I do know when I have a weekend that opens up, the first thing I hope to do is make it back home with family and friends and continue to enjoy the time with the people who mean the most to me.

Happy belated Father’s Day to all the special dads out there, and to the best dad I know, mine.

 


Dad and me on my birthday last month

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Congrats class of 2010!

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Ashley Peterson


Summer, the grad, and I on graduation night

My little sister, Summer, graduated Friday night in Winona.  It’s hard to believe five years ago I was sitting in the same cap and gown, about to receive my own high school diploma.

It was special to be able to see Sum walk across the stage, a proud smile on her face, and officially graduate from high school.  I remember feeling excited, nervous and anxious all at the same time as I help my diploma in my hand, fully away it was the end of the comforts of "ruling the school" and the ease of skipping high school class.

Everything changes when you go away to college.  Most of those changes are positive things- growing up and maturing while realizing life is so different outside the confines of your parents’ home. Different, yet scary and sometimes difficult.

But that’s all part of growing up.  And as Summer goes off to UMD in August, I’ll be there by her side to encourage her and cheer her on as she sets off on a new chapter of her life, embarking on a journey through uncharted territory.

Congrats, sis! And good luck to all 2010 grads!

 

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