2020 Holiday Greetings from Meadow Breeze Farm

WHERE to begin? 2020 has not been the successful launch of the roaring new decade we all hoped for back in January. We’ve been challenged in ways that are still hard to fathom. We’ve been forced to look inward and ask if we are up to the task of modifying our behaviors in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones. We appreciate many of life’s simple pleasures, like an ample supply of toilet paper, and wonder if we’ll take all-day breakfast at McDonald’s for granted again if and when it returns. Deb and I join millions of involuntarily separated family members settling for Facetime and Zoom conference connections with our grandchildren. It’s like a post-apocalyptic novel, right down to the killer virus and the egomaniacal president, but, hey, at least my car is getting two weeks to the gallon.

    Travel in 2020 included San Francisco in February for a family reunion, Scottsdale in March to see the James Gang, and Delano, Long Lake, Maple Plain and Minneapolis during the rest of the year.

    Phil, Molly, and Theo (6) moved to Minnetonka to be closer to Phil’s and Theo’s schools and to have more room for Theo’s sister, due to arrive in early January. Phil teaches fifth grade in St. Louis Park. Theo is in first grade in the Spanish Immersion program at recently renovated Cedar Manor (where I went to kindergarten) when he’s allowed to attend class in person. Molly continues to work remotely for AFS Intercultural Programs. We’re excited that the family lives much closer now and look forward to being able to resume the weekly visits that ended with everything else.

    Ellie, Matt, Bennett (4), Miles (2), and Lucy (2) came to Minnesota at the end of April to quarantine on the farm. They did not return to Phoenix until mid-August, giving Deb and me an extraordinary amount of time to spend with the James Gang. The Grands had a magical summer, spent mostly outdoors since constant 114° weather was not an issue. The farm provided all kinds of entertainment and wonderment for the Grands, including pony riding on Trixie Trot Trot, playing with a litter of kittens born in May, and walks on the Luce Line.  Saying “goodbye” in August was probably the hardest part of the pandemic since it’s not clear when we’ll all be together again. On the other hand, we had almost four months to observe my daughter’s and son-in-law’s nurturing and patience as parents and know the Grands are thriving.

    Deb and I celebrated our 40^th anniversary in November with, of course, a Zoom party with the “kids” and the Grands. Deb retired completely this year, deciding not to pick up occasional shifts at Hennepin HealthCare once the James Gang returned to Arizona. She continues to be a whirlwind of activity, never slowing down in her roles of grandma, farm manager, ranch hand, gardener, equestrian, homemaker, devoted friend, and loving wife. There are now nine horses to care for on the farm, including the newest addition, Penny Pop Pop, a Halflinger pony acquired for the Grands after Trixie Trot Trot succumbed to old age. There’s also two dogs and five cats. There’s never nothing to do. 

    I’ve been working remotely 99% of the time since March 17^th. We’ve stayed busy at Bridge Law Group and it’s hard to believe that the firm has practiced apart from one another for more than eight months. We all have a wonderful working relationship and manage to stay connected through thrice weekly Zoom conferences. Besides practicing law, I’m celebrating my tenth year on the board of TruStone Financial Credit Union and serving my second term as chairman of the board of the TruStone Financial Foundation. In my spare time, I’m still a photographer.

    We look forward to being able to congregate with our friends and family in person before too much longer. We hope and pray that you all stay safe and take solace in your ability to rise to the challenges forced upon us, managing to survive, or thrive, in spite of all the strangeness. Have a joyful, healthy, safe holiday season and save me a hug. I miss them.

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year!

Sam & Deb

Living with the End in Mind

As my FaceBook friends know, I have been supportive of the work of the End in Mind Project, a nonprofit founded by MPR journalist Cathy Wurzer in furtherance of her work with the late Bruce Kramer. My involvement started out as a volunteer photographer, memorializing events hosted by Cathy and giving me the opportunity to repeatedly receive the message of living life to the fullest at each of life's stages.

Cathy and the organization encourage us to live more and fear less. Inevitably, we all die. Communicating with loved ones and friends about how we want to face the inevitable, while still an unscheduled certainty, frees us to celebrate the lives and relationships we have right up until when we don't.

The last few weeks have sharply focused the need for the lessons of the End in Mind Project. Rather than being some amorphous concept that we'll deal with when we have time, Death has come calling globally in the form of Covid-19. Death teases us, leaving us to wonder if we will be part of the 40% likely to become infected, part of the 20% of the infected who experience serious health problems, or among the 3% of the virus' hosts who do not survive.

The reality of the situation we find ourselves in, forced to self-isolate, unable to carry on normal day-to-day activities like going to school or movies or restaurants, and clueless about if and when things will ever be "normal" again, gives considerable pause. It's as if we are in a perpetual backwards day and the concept of living more and fearing less seems other worldly.

Somewhere around the age of 8, Ian Fleming conveyed a life lesson that I've taken to heart for 60 years. He included a haiku in You Only Live Twice:

You only live twice
Once when you're born
And once when you look death in the face.


Over the years, I've had different thoughts about the meaning of the poem. But today, as we're all looking Death in the face, I accept the lesson as an admonishment not to waste this second life.

I have no way of knowing if I am going to survive this pandemic but I refuse to wallow in anxiety and self-pity waiting to find out. Life is much different than it was two months ago. But it is life.

While taking recommended steps to reduce my risk of being infected, I am not disassociating from everything dear to me. I can keep up with family and friends on social media and by phone or video conferencing. While I'd prefer meeting over a vodka with extra olives at the Monte, electronic discourse and full pours at home will suffice for now. My Amazon Prime, HBO, Showtime, Disney+, AppleTV, and Netflix options are overwhelming. I'm finally getting around to reading James Clavell's Gaijin. I've put that off forever because once I'm done, there are no Clavell chronicles left to read. Under the circumstances (the part about not knowing if I'll survive), it's time.

Let's all take Cathy Wurzer's lead and find ways to live as fully as possible in the face of adversity and notwithstanding the ultimate inevitability. Go to www.endinmindproject.org for information on the nonprofit and its work, resources to draw on, and the opportunity to provide financial support.