A Letter From the Future
Dear Peter in 2021,
It is a lovely, early Spring morning here in Grand Marais. Although there’s a definite chill in the air, Jenny and I are enjoying our morning coffee on the deck watching the sea smoke rise off of Lake Superior. It never ceases to amaze. There’s greenness all around too as the gardens are slowly coming back to life. Daisy III and Kasper II are chasing squirrels and defending their/our territory. It isn’t a huge place, mind you, but it is beautiful and it is enough.
We are grateful for the choices we made that allowed us to essentially retire early. Yes, we still work part-time at the folk school - but it is because we want to not because we have to. That freedom is pure gift.
The girls are doing well. Hazel just turned 21... While she says she didn’t get up to too many shenanigans, we remember her wild-streaks as a baby... giggling maniacally and slamming her back into her high chair. She still loves the water and has been quite the successful competitive swimmer in college. Hadley, now 24, is in Med School and is preparing for a summer internship with Doctors Without Borders. The time you’ve spent abroad as a family certainly formed and informed them as global citizens. They are your adventure buddies and where you’ve found true heart and meaning. Together the four of us have built a life that we love.
Professionally, you’ve been around the world and back again a couple of times but you’ve somehow always come back to the Twin Cities. The ‘drifting stone’ tattoo you inked yourself with when you returned from Malaysia has long given way to a baobab tree from Tanzania... As much as you like to roam, you are rooted and connected in ways you can hardly imagine now. You’ve been a Pastor, an Executive Director, a Student, and a Teacher. While the roles have been varied, the through-line has always been creating community and accompanying others as they live into their gifts and who they are called to be.
It has been, and continues to be, quite the ride. Hold on tight!
-Peter in the Future
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