A Day with Friends
Three Assessor Friends
It’s not very often that we can spend a relaxing time with friends that have shared a work history that is quite unique. Doreen, Judy and I have spent the majority of our W-2 Form work days much like Nicodemus of the Bible times. No, we have not hidden in the tree to protect ourselves as we were known as tax collectors but at times it would have been a good place to take refuge. The three of us have worked as County Assessors, actually Doreen still has a few years before she will be retiring. Judy is retired from Brown County, I am retired from Watonwan County and Doreen is still slugging it out in Nicollet County. All three counties are in Minnesota.
The three of us managed to form a bond outside of the offices as we share a love of grandchildren, flower gardens and good food. Today Doreen hosted Judy and I at her home for a five star noon lunch. In times past our gathering would be a day-long trip to the Minnesota Arboretum or stopping at various greenhouses and nurseries to see if there may have been a plant that had eluded us. The size of the trunk was important as to who would drive or often Doreen manned the wheel as she had a van. Fun times over decades. Most recently we spend time chatting over luncheons catching up with each other. Relationships either grow or they die. Some of the plants we were in pursuit of may not have made it but the relationship within our small group is alive and well. The photo is of a year or so ago when we treated ourselves to day at the beauty college in Mankato. Getting a little TLC made for a lot of fun. Today we were too busy chatting to think of a photo. We’ll get it the next time.