May 30, 2025 The last graduating class of Northland College walked the stage this past weekend. I have written about how my time at Northland taught me to take an active role in my community and to leave it better than I found it. There is a direct line leading from my professors’ exhortations ofContinue reading “Social Fabric”
Author Archives: Driftless Grace
The Plot Thickens
May 12, 2025 I finally broke through my recent bout with uncertainty to find that I had a lot of very certain work to do in my garden. It’s mid-May, and I’m still working to prepare the plot so I can plant my future charges. Luckily, the folks at the community garden couldn’t make itContinue reading “The Plot Thickens”
Outcome Unknown
April 27, 2025 I have a confession that will shock no one: uncertainty is very, very difficult for me. Even as several positive transformations have been taking place in my life, I feel concern about the unknowns and the things that are left to do. I could have 98 percent of my day planned butContinue reading “Outcome Unknown”
Human, Kind
April 5, 2025 I have often found myself acting as an ambassador for the places I live, work, or frequent. Even before I moved to this tourist town — where we spend the summer eating lunch and drinking coffee with thousands of our closest friends — I had a number of jobs that put meContinue reading “Human, Kind”
Screen Time
March 26, 2025 I have spent a great deal of time in this still-new year reflecting on my use of technology. While I’m choosing to rely less on electronics in my life outside of work, news from the wider world shows technology playing a bigger role than ever in human existence. A friend recently gaveContinue reading “Screen Time”
Going Out
March 8, 2025 (Happy almost-birthday to this blog, upon which I embarked on March 21, 2020!) My latest meeting with a friend over coffee touched on a favorite topic of mine: the events that mark the change of seasons in a small town. I was pleased when, like me, this friend lumped both human andContinue reading “Going Out”
The Brighter Pathway
February 26, 2025 My mind and heart have relocated to a place three hundred miles north of here since I learned that Northland College is set to close at the end of May. A year of drastic cuts has failed to address the long history of mismanagement that helped bring about these cuts in theContinue reading “The Brighter Pathway”
Gathering Strength
February 12, 2025 I haven’t checked my social media feeds in a few days – a rare accomplishment for someone who grew up while this technology was taking off. It’s not the platform itself that bothers me; it’s the intrusion of the fraught news cycle into every moment of my life. Even a quick glanceContinue reading “Gathering Strength”
Wintermezzo
January 28, 2025 I received an unintended compliment at the gas station a few weeks ago when a friend told me, “I didn’t know you had a car!”. It’s true that I try to make most trips on foot in this town where most of the amenities are on the same few blocks. It wasContinue reading “Wintermezzo”
Minor Miracle
January 12, 2025 Last month, as Spring Green prepared to be swept up in the annual holiday whirlwind, I witnessed a miracle. I found myself in a warm room full of people one Friday night, with more of my fellow-citizens coming in all the time. And everyone who walked through the door was smiling. ThisContinue reading “Minor Miracle”
Driftless Grace 