“Caring about neighbors:” a morning of inspiration
This morning on Facebook I read this post:
“22 years spent in a community that helped a single mom raise her 3 kids. Thank you Hibbing for helping shape my kids into the incredible humans they have turned out to be. Here’s to new beginnings….”
The writer posted a picture of their sold Hibbing house, and I thought–what does a community provide that inspires this touching goodbye?
When I first started working on Hello, Range! I started an online survey to learn what values our residents would consider “Iron Range.” In the survey, I ask one question:
| Adaptable |
| Being helpful to others in a jam. |
| Caring about neighbors. |
| Community |
| Community Building |
| hospitality |
| Integrity |
| Kindness |
| Sense of community |
Aren’t these just the kinds of attributes that would inform a sweet city-goodbye Facebook post?
Today my daughter texted me from school and asked me to participate in a GoFundMe for her friend’s mom, who has cancer. As I scrolled through the list of donors, I was reminded of the “kindness” and “being helpful to others” that exists on the Iron Range.
Every region has its challenges, but it also has its gifts. On the Range, we are still neighbors–helping blow snow for the injured or less able, adopting recipients from the Salvation Army Angel Tree, and calling the owners of lost dogs when we bump into them on our evening walks. These positives for me outweigh any amount of retail or entertainment offerings.
So yes… as we enter the winter season we are faced with early nights, and the chances of cold weather are pretty good. But today the temperature is near 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and I am going to take my dog for a walk on Maple Hill. I’m going appreciate the reasons I live on the Iron Range.