After my friend Michael Levy died, we decided to spend a week in Wisconsin and Minnesota, visiting loved ones and attending Mike’s memorial service. Crossing the Mississippi River at Wabasha, we drove up to Lyster Church in nearby Nelson, Wisconsin, where my grandparents are buried. There’s an old barn nearby that I’ve always loved.

But the barn that seemed so solid in 2011 is now a ruin. Goodbye, old barn.

In Minnesota, we visited one of the most beautiful stave churches in North America. Being new, it’s still standing, which is somehow very comforting. So much of my hometown has changed. My childhood home is gone, and whole neighborhoods have been torn down, replaced by flood walls to hold back the Red River.

My parents took me to the Sons of Norway for lunch, and the lefse and the rømmegrøt were still on the menu, watched over by carved Vikings and trolls. But even the Sons of Norway has changed. My parents used to eat dinner there every Tuesday with a large group of friends, and now those friends have passed away, one by one.

Time marches on, and it takes so much away. Some things never change, however, and I’m happy to say that Fargo still has its ugly painted bison and its late April snowstorms. So there is that.

Back in Wisconsin, we met up with my friend Kelly McCullough, who graciously signed his most recent book for my nieces. It’s called School for Sidekicks and it’s my favorite of Kelly’s books.

Kelly and Laura also showed off their kitty Chamomile, who cannot hear but has a heart filled with love.

On the morning of Mike’s memorial service, we drove over to the cemetery, which is on an island in the middle of a lake, with old graves and tall trees. A narrow land bridge connects the island to the rest of the town. There’s a steep hill overlooking the lake, and a wild woods along the opposite shore. You can hear the wind when you climb to the top of the ridge. It’s beautiful there, and it’s a good place to come back to.