Dearest Family of Joe,

So far the summer has been both relaxing and stressful, productive and lazy, and all sorts of other opposites simultaneously. Which has been more than a little confusing, to say the least.

It all started with a most fabulous four days in DC. MyJoe mixed me G&Ts every night, we got up early every morning to coffee and a bagel, and I spent the day surrounded by lovely: reading and writing in majestic buildings.

On returning home, however, I found myself both high on Minnesota and in a state of complete collapse. I slept /tons/ and let myself ride the waves of family-ness more or less completely passively. By the second week, my guilt at not doing anything and paralyzed fear of not doing everything I needed to do this summer took hold, and I managed to get some things done: finalize my two internships, call a former governor, finish a couple books, get my bike out for a spin, look up gym and climbing memberships.

Last week then flew by, spending time with my sister and the returned MyJoe. Oh! I almost forgot! I also had an amazing first meeting this summer about my senior thesis. That was exciting, and made me feel productive for the first time this summer. I'll have the opportunity to sit in the Twin Cities Public Television station crash lounge and watch all the old politically related episodes of my favorite show ever: Almanac, a weekly news show begun in 1985. That'll be amazing. Oh, and last weekend I went down to the convention and watched Franken's acceptance speech. I'll be working hard for him this summer (I hope - 'nother thing to make happen).

This week, I've been working at a place called WAND: Women Achieving New Directions. It helps low income women find jobs which pay them better, thus allowing them to support their families. My task has been to organize binders filled with information on community resources, from child care to housing services. I'm now compiling that information in an easy to use (and pretty) packet so staff can quickly find organizations which can help these women with whatever they're facing. It's also allowing me to gauge how much communication happens between non profits here in the cities, and to think more about one of my crazy ideas: a plan to improve communication between organizations and create a true safety net for everyone in this community - as well as make volunteering easy and integral to the Minnesota lifestyle. In other news, I've started contacting women leaders in the community to 'put myself in context'. I want to know how it is that I, as a young woman, have had the opportunities I've had by learning what the women who came before me have faced. I also want to know what they think of my generation: what they think are the challenges we face, and how we should go about fighting them.

Which brings me to the crux of my confused-state/jumpiness. I realized the other day that I'm in a sort of funny transition area right now. Minnesota has always been the place where I played soccer, went to school, did all that 'growing up'. But now, really the last couple weeks, it's becoming the place where I will /live/. Where I will raise a family. Where I will work and make connections and do the things I will do to make this place (keep this place?) as great as it is in my head when I'm arguing with Bostonians. It's an eery sort of transition, and I'm still trying to figure out what it practically means: in a lot of ways it's a transition that has been going on for awhile....

Anyhoot, this weekend will be a break from all that: Cabin!! We'll be putting in da bOHt and going for a sOWna. Ah, been too long since I've had one of those :) And seeing the grandparents will be a blast!

I really miss you all! Please, let us all know what you're up to!

Love,

Martha