I
hope you all had a nice Valentine's Day weekend, and for those who have today
off, I hope you are enjoying it.
We
all complain at one time or another about our cold weather, but there were a lot
of people out and about it in it over the weekend. I went with some friends
over the Lake of the Isles ice rink on Sunday.
(Left
to right: Jennifer Kasel and Heather Brown)
It
was a celebration of our winter weather. There were pick-up hockey games going
on, broom ball matches, figure skaters, speed skaters, kids being pulled around
on their rear ends by parents holding hockey sticks, and lots of laughs and
smiles to be found.
I
bumped into (not literally in this case) a wonderful family out enjoying the
afternoon on the ice. The Ramsay family has spent a lot of time out on Lake of
the Isles playing.
(Left
to right: Donna, Cy, Bill, Dave, Quinn)
Bill
grew up on the west side of the lake, his wife on the other. They were young
teenagers the first time they met in the warming hut. They were celebrating 45
years together as husband and wife yesterday on the ice. Their son Dave joined
them along with his kids Cy and Quinn. (Cy is quite the hockey player, and Grandpa
was helping him out with a few drills.)
It
was one of the many wonderful moments recorded in my memory bank yesterday. All
around me there were scenes that made me smile. If it hadn't been for the
blisters forming inside my still-too-stiff-and-new ice skates, I would have
stayed out there hours longer than I did.
Unfortunately,
the City of Minneapolis is closing that rink, officially, today. One could
argue that's a good thing ... a sign that spring really is on its way. But I
would also argue there are plenty of opportunities out there to continue to
enjoy winter, if you just bundle up and get out in it.
Happy
trails, my Friends!
JT
