by Kelli Bowen
One of the neat things about working in the melting pot that is western North Dakota is that it gives me an extra appreciation for things that I may have unintentionally taken for granted. I have lived in North Dakota almost my entire life. Not everyone has.
The simple task of gathering with friends is now kind of new again. A lot of the workers in the area are young, like half my age young. This has given me a new-found appreciation for the elder millennials/gen X crowd. These are my people. The folks who still may have dreams but have had life take them down a peg or two so they’re less Pollyanna and more palatable. I now get excited when I see people with hints of crow's feet or a little salt and pepper in their hair: Come drink with me and tell tales of the before-technology times.
These people can go hard, but still have “things” to do tomorrow, so we start earlier. Don’t call us at 9 to go out…if we haven’t already started what we are starting, we’re already in pajamas and calling it a night.
While having a meeting of the minds with some of my same-aged new friends, we talked of the area, the interesting quirks about our little town, stories of where we came from, and shared experiences of what we’ve liked so far.
As we chatted, Hubby interrupted and declared: “The northern lights are out!” One of the out-of-staters declared she’d never seen them.
So off we went, cups in hand and phone flashlights guiding our somewhat stumbling feet out into the badlands until we found a dark and open clearing and looked up.
With more stars than believable, three fabulously mature women, and Hubby, were staring up at the sky, giggling and taking photos in the dark. After checking a new experience off of a bucket list, we wrapped up our evening. Drinking cups empty and inner cups full, we called it a night before midnight…because we have “things” to do tomorrow.
Kelli makes her home in Billings County with her husband, two daughters and a dog. She works for North Dakota's #1 tourist destination by day and tries to be an alright mom, wife, friend, and writer by night.
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