I can’t tell you how many years I pined for a snowy, Minnesota Christmas–especially during our first two tours overseas. In my head, the best Christmases happened in Minnesota and came complete with laughter, cuddles under blankets, fresh coats of white snow, warm winter beverages and ice skating! And, as is often the case, the more Christmases I missed out on, the more idealized my memory of Minnesota Christmases became.
So when this year afforded us the opportunity to be in Minnesota on Christmas–for the first time in 14 years!–I knew I’d be playing with fire because when does reality ever live up to that perfect version in our heads?? Let me tell you how it all played out…
We flew in early on the morning of Monday the 19th and went to pick up the rental car. The salesperson went on and on about the big storm that was coming and “didn’t I want to upgrade my tiny Kia Soul for something with 4-wheel drive and more heft?” She eventually wore me down and I left with a 4WD Ford Escape to face the elements. When we emerged from the parking garage, the snow was already falling, though it felt pretty, not sinister yet. We drove straight to my friend Liz’s house and enjoyed breakfast before Nia took her first romp in the snow. I thought we’d come prepared with adequate gear, but Liz gave us a neck warmer and thicker socks to round out our ensemble. I had to laugh because Nia had no idea what order to put things on in. When I found her, she was zipped into her coat and putting on her boots, but had forgotten to put on her snow pants. I got her sorted out in a flash though, given that I could probably put on snow clothes in my sleep! :)
Nia stayed outside a good half hour, making snow angels and sliding down a small hill. At one point she came in and asked Liz for a bowl and returned a moment later with it full of fresh snow. She wanted to eat it, of course, and Liz had just the thing to sweeten the treat–some flavored water drops that made it taste like a snowcone! She was thrilled about her concoction and kept insisting I have more bites.
After a few hours at Liz’s we were on to the Doctor for my annual check-up. We were in and out quickly, and managed to make it to Jenna’s–where we’d be sleeping while in the cities–by mid-afternoon. It was there that we had our first introduction to Baby Tate, the newest addition to the Miller clan. He was the sweetest thing and I enjoyed lots of snuggles with him. Monday night we went to see Nia’s cousin perform in his Christmas Program and my former Catholic grade school. It brought back a flood of good memories and some sightings of people I hadn’t seen in decades!
Tuesday’s big highlight was a group trip to see an outdoor light spectacle. We had originally planned to walk the mile trail, but with temps plummeting, we opted for a drive-through option instead with a few photo stops along the way. My Mom, bless her heart, took the five older children in the back of the Expedition to watch the show. I managed to snag a seat in the “adults and babies” car which was MUCH more peaceful.
Here’s a look at some of the light displays:
The kids were loving it and kept wanting to get out of the car!
At the end there was a large barn offering food, beverages, shopping and Santa visits. We all clambered out of the car and warmed up in there before wrapping up our night. Everyone agreed it was a fun holiday outing and I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes an annual tradition.
By late Tuesday evening there was lots of talk about the bad weather that was coming. Since I’m so out of practice with winter weather driving, I didn’t want to take any chances and cancelled all four of the friend visits I had scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. Instead, Nia and I beelined it to our family’s Wisconsin cabin to hunker down for the holiday. My Mom & Dad arrived a few hours later with Nia’s next oldest cousin, and they spent the rest of the day decorating cookies and watching Christmas movies.
Emily, Beth and Jenna’s families all bumped up their timelines and got to the cabin on Thursday morning (original plan was Friday) since road conditions were deteriorating by the hour. The temps remained well below zero for Thursday, Friday and Saturday with strong winds making it feel like -20 to -40 F at times. The kids started to go crazy after being cooped up inside so long, so at one point my Dad and Emily’s husband went outside and constructed a snow fort using some of the boards from the dock, the idea being that the fort could provide a wind break and allow the kids to be outside for a little longer.
The fort was a big hit, especially when they found out they got to enjoy some hot cocoa in the fort as well. I was shocked to see them make it almost 20 minutes outside. Impressive given how bitingly cold it was.
I started having a slight cough on Wednesday afternoon and by the time everyone arrived on Thursday morning, it had developed into a full-blown upper respiratory infection. It was not COVID, but it drained my energy and made me weary of being around the others because I didn’t want to get them sick and was coughing fairly regularly. Then Thursday night Armin, Nia’s cookie-making buddy, got flu-like symptoms, so their family returned to the cities on Christmas eve morning. Jenna’s family also left because they were leery about all the sickness in the house infecting their newborn. So just like that, we lost half of our parties, leaving just Beth’s family, my parents, and Nia and I.
It was such a bummer losing half the group and I couldn’t help feeling guilty about being a contributor to the problem. We made the best of the situation though, using Zoom to facilitate virtual present opening.
We are back in D.C. now, and my sick time in bed has given me ample opportunity to reflect on the week. We are taking lots of good memories away from our time in Minnesota and are so glad we went. The bubble definitely popped on my ‘idealized MN Christmas’ though. I was reminded of all the challenging aspects that come with big winter gatherings–the rampant spreading of illness, the unpredictable (and often dangerous) weather, and the toddler meltdowns that accompany too much Christmas fun. I feel some disappointment over how things played out, but think perhaps it’s healthy that I’m coming away with a more realistic, nuanced remembrance of the complexities of life.
