The world is cheering on Minnesota

Feb 3

Sunday morning I woke up early to go for a cross country ski before taking my family downhill skiing. As I was floating through the trees, snot dripping from my nose, I was thinking about the viral reel of cross-country skiing that says, “what kind of anti-depressant do you have to be on to enjoy cross-country skiing?” This made me giggle, because there I was at 7am just having a great time doing a sport most people in this country will never experience, let alone enjoy.

I returned home and loaded up three ikea sized bags full of gear to take my young children downhill skiing.

By 10am I was on the bunny hill doing the “pizza” behind my toddler. We even made it down a full long run, our first time together. My calves were on fire. There is no workout on earth quite like trying to ski behind your toddler while wielding a leash, stopping to help them every time they fall, and all of this in layers and layers of gear.

I overheard a ski instructor say, “just… try not to think about falling” and almost laughed out loud.

Each of us have a million little ways we endure and overcome winter.

After 18 years, our furnace gave out this winter. Multiple friends experienced frozen pipes. My neighbor totaled her vehicle on I-35. Every winter, most Minnesotans deal with something the cold weather destroys. Our vehicles, homes, minds, and bodies, are all subject to the brutality of winter for months and months.

Grit shows up here without announcement; it is a constant.

And that is why, it comes as little surprise that Minnesotans are meeting the moment.

We will gather up every single coat in this state to make sure people being released from Whipple Detention Center, without coats or a ride home, will be greeted by a down jacket, a heated car, and a welcoming face. We will march by the thousands on one of the coldest days of the year.

Minnesotans take our civic responsibilities seriously.

A little known fact is that Minnesota had the highest participation rate in the 2020 Census of any state, with 75% of Minnesotans responding.

We frequently are among states with the highest voter turnout.

We take care of one another. We know how to get through the long night.

At times like this, we go to ground. We look to the roots beneath our own two feet, we take a deep breath, we put on our thickest wool sweater, we look to the people in our neighborhood and the actions we can take with our own two hands.

Is everyone safe? Is everyone warm? Is everyone fed?

All of this is about to take place alongside the Winter Olympics, an event established for the promotion of peace. Minnesota’s acumen for surviving the winter is about to take the world stage. According to the Star Tribune, of the 232 athletes on Team USA, 37 of those athletes, or roughly 16%, are from, or have ties to, Minnesota. That’s just under 1 in 5 athletes. The world will have the opportunity to see Minnesotans do what we do best, thrive in winter, nearly every day of the Winter Olympics.

The Olympics are rife with stories of bravery, integrity, and our shared humanity. As you are inspired by the athletes in these games, let it be a mirror of your own resilience, your own courage, your own perseverance.