so close now

when i got into my car today, which had been parked in the sun, it was hot inside. after five months of cold this is a glorious thing. i know it is mundane to talk about the weather, but minnesotans can’t help it. the weather here is so extreme, it dominates everything: our safety, our mood, our mobility, our psyche, and our conversations. we were settled by scandinavians. we still have a collective mindset. the weather demands it. a minnesotan will always stop to assist a driver that has spun out in a snow storm. it’s what we do. weather can turn from mild to dangerous in minutes. weather is what we talk about first, then we ask how the kids are.

willow buds in march