Author: lundquistclan

A mom of two living on a prairie. I enjoy writing about my family. Also I try to write and advocate about hearing loss. I have a moderate severe hearing loss myself and use hearing aids on a daily basis. I am the program director for KSCR radio and the morning show host for Sunrise with Sara weekdays 6-9am. I try to look at my surroundings each day and thank God for the beauty he has provided.

How Our Story Began

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It is Valentine’s Day and I use this day to reminisce of how Chad and I became a couple. Was it fate, the stars or divine intervention. I tend to believe the third one.

I was in college and I have had a couple different boyfriends during those years. One ended quite odd. I dated a man I worked with in St Paul. I cared for him and I believe he did for me. We had some great times together. He took a vacation to visit his family in Mexico. I come to find out he went home to be married!!! How does that even happen? Needless to say it was a shock and that relationship was over. The next boyfriend we were friends before we dated. When I went away to New Mexico to college it occurred to me we weren’t a good match. I ended the relationship and decided I wanted to look for marriage not just fun and a date.

Here is the part of the story that isn’t conventional. My mom had told me that I should have an arranged marriage. She wants the best for me so she could find someone. HA!! that would happen when hell froze over. As a joke I grabbed a meeting people magazine, threw it at my mom and asked her to pick me a husband. Yes a magazine, I hate to say I am getting old. Match.com and things like that didn’t exist. Still had AOL dialup Internet.

Mom poured over the magazine and she picked 3 ads. I was surprised never expected her to even look at it. I secretly looked at the ads and kinda agreed. I wrote one letter to the mystery man. I told about being in college and our new puppy. I never told a soul that I wrote this letter.

Around this time we gained another piece of new age technology, caller ID. My dad was getting driven nuts by this ,Chad Lundquist, that kept calling our home. We were never there when he called and it was driving him crazy!!  Finally we were home and I talked to Chad on the phone. We just clicked. We talked for two hours non stop. I finally had to tell someone I wrote to a personal ad and we are talking. We talked numerous times. Finally met for dinner at Baker Square by Sunray Shopping Center. Then went to a movie with a friend of mine, she was also on a date. The night was great. Chad was a gentleman. He opened doors and pulled out chairs. He was slow to kiss me that took a couple months. It was so fun dating Chad. 13 months later we were engaged and 5 months later we were married. The story took off from there. In a few months we will celebrate 16 years of marriage. We have had our good times and plenty off of bad times. Never have I looked back from picking up that phone when the caller ID said Chad Lundquist.

I love you Chad.

The Blizzard

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We are to be getting a Blizzard of Armageddon proportions today.  You know the type; the media is in a frenzy, the stores are packed and you have your rations of milk, eggs and bread.

I often wonder what are we to do with this milk, eggs and bread.  Is the staple meal with a blizzard, french toast.  Why wouldn’t we just have our normal groceries in the house and just eat our normal menu.  I am very glad in times like this I am a caner.  I can open a jar of soup, or meat to make a meal.  Very handy to have in situations like this.

So there is this hype and frenzy in the air with a storm.  Mind you not one flake has fallen yet but a big percentage of the schools in the state have already closed.  A major metro school district, St Paul, is closing at noon.  That floors me- these predictions better be good.  We are still in school but the school closings are getting closer and closer to us.  We are now seeing schools within a 30 mile radius are closing.

I don’t know what to think.  An old fashion big ol’ blizzard would be fun.  Watching the snow get higher and higher is exciting to watch.  No one has to leave tomorrow so we would be safe.  We have our bread, milk and eggs.  Then there is this practical adult part of my brain that is saying NO we don’t want this.  Our cars will be covered in snow.  Then we have to shovel this snow.  As soon as I am done shoveling the plow goes by and makes a wall that is waist deep that we now have to shovel through.

So we wait, and we wait.  The electricity in the air of anticipation is almost to much.  Technology is such that we can text friends and family far and near, “Is it doing anything by you yet.”  Yes that childlike part in my soul is ready for a big Minnesota Blizzard.

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Is that …?

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Do your kids ever tell you something or announce something that you can’t help laugh till you need to catch your breathe. With my daughter we used to call them Gretaisms. I really wish I would had written down more of these. She was so stubborn if we told her the correct name or saying it didn’t matter. Do you remember the animated movie of a family of super heroes , The Incredibles. Yep to her it was, The Commadores. There was no changing her mind.  All kids have these and being a mom who happens to be hard of hearing I can hear some hum dingers of mis hearing.

I don’t know what all influences our kids. I hope our well meaning parenting does the most shaping of our kids. I am afraid that the world and outside forces does their share also. Like a play do mold. I try to teach values and morals to my children. Mold them into someone of good moral character. There is always that play do that squeezes out of the mold. I wonder if that part absorbs the world around us. Like it or not. It doesn’t mean they will go down a bad path but they have heard it and they are exposed to it.

Tonight my family went for Chinese food. First we had to convince our son that K2 was a regular shrimp and fries plate not kids. You know being 7 we shouldn’t have to eat from a kids menu. So yes I lied K2 is a big meal…NOT   When he takes the step to read the menu this will be stopped I guess. We were eating and enjoying each others company. My son yells in the middle of conversation while pointing to the sweet and sour sauce, “WHAT IS THAT STUFF? IS IT MARIJUANA?” Needless to say I chocked on my Mountain Dew and I don’t think I composed myself from laughing for several minutes. Where did that come from. I still can’t even type this at 3:30am without laughing. We don’t do drugs we don’t talk about drugs. I am guessing news or the few times my husband and I have debated over medical marijuana. We feel very different about that subject. That is besides the point. What does he think Marijuana is? To him a sweet pinkish dipping sauce. I didn’t know to respond but to laugh. My husband just said “Marijuana is illegal” I am not sure that cleared anything up for him. Kids say the darnedest things.

So next time you are out for Chinese be careful you don’t have to much fun with the sweet and sour sauce.

Jars

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   I have such fond memories of washing jars in my grandma’s kitchen. She and my mother taught me to can. They gave me the love of a jar. The love of a full fruit room which is what grandma had. We made applesauce and … Continue reading Jars