This weekend, Al & I went to see our son run for UNI in a cross country meet in Madison, WI.  I have to admit, when I found out that we would be going back to Madison, I was excited!  For we lived there when our marriage was new and our lives were young.

The cross country meet took place on Saturday, September 16th at 10:30 a.m.  The meet was over around noon.  I looked at Al and said, “Let’s check out State Street!”

State Street is a walking street in Madison that leads up to the state capital.  We had not been there since we moved in 1993.

We married in August of 1989 after we graduated from Luther College in Decorah, IA.  It was 2 weeks before Al’s medical school started.  We moved to a sketchy part of town, because it was all we could afford.  Al began medical school and I worked days, nights, and weekends to assist in making our ends meet.

It was a very hard time in our lives, we had immense amounts of stress surrounding us.

We found refuge during this time by walking State Street hand-in-hand, looking at the unique shops, listening to the street musicians, and getting an ice cream cone.  On an occasional Saturday morning, we would check out the farmer’s market.  We would get a bag of cheese curds (so fresh they squeezed!) and a glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade.

Last Saturday, when we arrived at State Street, I was so excited.  “The farmer’s market is still going on!”  It felt like a wonderful dream!  I could not imagine when, with our busy schedules and the 5-hour drive, we would ever make it up to the farmer’s market around the capital.

We celebrated by getting a bag of cheese curds, munching (or should I say squeaking) our way around the square.  Our visit was but a couple of hours, but the happiness remains with me!