Ramsey Favorites

Reasons Why we'll Miss Ramsey

We're getting close to our final days in the Ramsey home. To sum it up, it's been an enjoyable 5 years, with some feelings as we leave that I wasn't expecting. When we first started the process to move out of our Brooklyn Park townhouse, our ideal thought was, get a house big enough for twins, raise them until kindergarten and get the heck out of dodge. While we seeked a community that would be enjoyable to raise our family, it wasn't really high on our agenda for a home, and while looking it just felt like we were looking for a place that we could "borrow" time until we moved back to Brooklyn Park to really settle down and thrive as a unit. So imagine my surprise while lying in bed last night that a few tears were shed, and there are many pieces of Ramsey and the Anoka-Ramsey community that I'm really going to miss. Here's what I believe are the top 9.

#9 - The Train. One of the things I'll miss the most even though I only used it a half a dozen times is the train that took northwest metro residents into downtown. The convenience for sports games was fantastic, and it was only a mile away from our home.

When we first moved to Ramsey, I was irritated by the amount of times I had to stop for trains to pass through if I needed to get to the north side of Highway 10. In Maple Grove and Brooklyn Park, I don’t think I ever had to stop for a train in all my years of driving. While waiting at crossings, I started to daydream about how wonderful it would be to just hop on the train, and take a ride across the country. I could see the Rockies for the first time, maybe the pines in the northwest. It was having a huge effect on me. Now, I don't even get mad when I have to sit and wait for the train to pass at the tracks. It might even give me a chance to say goodbye.

#8 - $5 pizza. We've gotten much better about not eating pizza so much, but there was a time when we used to order $5 pizza every Tuesday. For the price, they really do make rocking pizza, and their thin crust version is tough to beat. The Macaroni and Cheese pizza is also quite ridiculous, albeit in a good way. Yet as we pack up to leave, it won't be the pizza with the lasting impression. Our frequent visits to $5 really rated for something, because the entire establishment knew who I was, I feel like the quality of "my" pizzas were better than what everybody else got, and occasionally, the price of the pizza would be a little lower than what I was quoted for on the phone call. Awesome.

#7 - Super Bowl. When we first moved into the neighborhood, I was most excited for the bowling alley. It's literally just a 3 minute walk away from my house, almost to the point that I could just wheel my balls (oh yeah, multiple) down the street and into the facility. I still didn’t get to use it as much as I liked (maybe 15-20 times in the almost 5 years), but I always enjoyed the quiet atmosphere that the place provided. They still take care of their lanes, which is more than a number of local bowling alleys can say for themselves.  The deals were great, and I still have that love affair with bowling that I did when I was 7 years old and in a bowling league for the first time.

#6 - Ramsey Days. This is probably the biggest surprise on the list. For me, it's always only been about Tater Daze. Even though I grew up in Maple Grove, from my very first visit to the Brooklyn Park summer affair at the ripe age of 16, I've just always really enjoyed the atmosphere and experience of the gathering in the Park. It's one of the things that I had looked forward to the most, once we would get back into Brooklyn Park (whoops).

Ramsey's is a little different. It's more beer and pickups. It's a lot of arts and crafts and other tent stations that I don't have much interest in. But their focus and effort to make the kids happy (you should see all the fire trucks and police cars in the parade), is what I enjoyed the most. They had enough blowups for the State Fair, and our candy bags were always full to the top on the day of the parade.

#5 - Our backyard. This house that we started the boys in didn't need to be "sold" to us, once we saw the backyard. We visited nicer homes. We found houses that suited our commute to our parents and work places in a more satisfying manner. But… whenever I needed a break from the 3 boys, I could just yell "why don't you all go in the backyard and play," and I would have 30 minutes of a respite. There was just enough room to run around without using the jungle gym, or they could play in the little sandbox with their dump trucks and sand buckets. It also had a rock climbing wall, 3 swinging stations, 2 slides and a mini-tower. It was and still is one of my favorite things about the place. If I didn't have to sweep and vacuum up rocks once a week, we would have spent every summer day out there.

#4 - Driveway Soccer. Some of you may not know this, but there's a teeny bit of soccer enthusiasm in our home. It didn't always start that way. Growing up, I thought soccer was a "perfectly good waste of time." I used to want to play goalie in junior high, so I wouldn't have to run around and kick the stupid ball. And then World Cup 1998, and then Germany. And bang, it's all I've ever known since, with a little sprinkle of basketball and football. In any case, when we used to live at the townhouse in Brooklyn Park, 12 month old Aiden and I would kick the ball back and forth across the living room for what felt like hours. It was our time, and some of my favorite memories in that place. Here in Ramsey, we've taken it to a whole new level. We set up goals. We set up cones. We ran 2v2 contests for hours at a time.  While I appreciate what the driveway did by allowing us to get our vehicles into the garage, it's main purpose over the last 5 years was to serve as a training ground to raise 3 even more enthusiastic soccer players than their father ever could be.

#3 - Franklin Elementary. First time I realized that Franklin would be our elementary school, I did the sarcastic eye roll. It is as old as it looks, and being so close to major roads (169 and Main) had me fretting that every kid would attempt to run across the street to get to Dairy Queen. Now, it's one of my favorite parts about where we ended up in Ramsey. Aiden has had 2 spectacular teachers, and made enough friends to last a life time. I know the test scores aren't ideal, and it looks like it could fall over at any time, but I'm just impressed by the overall spirit of the kids at the school. While being a part of Northern Lights soccer, you can just tell when you have a kid that attends that school, because they have a little bit more fire in them. While I know that you can find friends and comradery anywhere you can go, I don't think it's going to be just Aiden that misses the Franklin Elementary atmosphere.

#2 - My Neighborhood. The location is actually nice too, as we are 2 minutes from Highway 10, but far enough away so that we don't hear traffic, and don't have to worry about our children running into the road. (I still remember hearing sirens at 3 in the morning thinking it was a dream, only to hear about the crash at our intersection - breaks my heart) But for me it's always been about the people. From the first week of having world class soccer superstars next door that were very welcoming with Aiden and always let him play along (even though they had 6+ years on him) to only having to make a phone call and someone would come and offer their help and guidance with any sort of thing that I'm not able to do (my fingers are made for typing, not hammering). So many examples to mention. A neighbor giving us massive discounts on a new Air Conditioner when the old one crapped out on us 2 months after we moved into the house, and with Sara 8 months pregnant no less! A screen door fixed in a matter of minutes. Weed killing and yard tips.  Dropping of Aiden at a friend's, because pre-school decided to change their in-time to the exact same time I would need to be at the bus stop to get him on the bus. Teammates in sports, dinner at each other's houses, birthday presents, Halloween parties, tossing the football around, hanging out on the front steps, swimming in your pools, playdates, Christmas lights, garbage cans, cat feedings, and the list goes on. You guys were rock stars, and you'll be missed more than you know. If I could hand pick my new neighborhood, it would just be full of everyone that we're next to now, or used to be next to.

P.S. At final inspection before we moved to Ramsey, our previous home owners had mentioned Halloween being a thing, and I just want to say it was one of the coolest things I've ever been a part of as a parent. Growing up in a neighborhood that had 50% participation, to see the lights on in almost every house, to receive king size candy bars, and be invited into homes… it's really awesome and one of the things I'll miss the most.

#1- Northern Lights. Growing up, there was a difference between the Confer boys in Minnesota, and the Confer boys in Pennsylvania. In Minnesota, my brother and I just tried to fit in, and be a part of the community. There weren't many awards, people didn't flock to watch us play sports, and we just had our tight group of friends, and never really asked for anything more. In Pennsylvania, we were treated like royalty. It was a small town (maybe 1,000), but every summer the expectation was that when something was going on in the community, my brother and I were going to be there. Swimming, football, listening to music in the park, going to the beach, etc. I wanted the same thing for my Confer kids. And with the soccer program, I feel like we had it. These boys have so much pride, so much enthusiasm, so much love for the game of soccer and I believe that everyone in the Northern Lights community could feel that when they saw us playing on the field. Two examples: I remember overhearing a parent say "oh crap, not these guys again" when having to deal with playing the twins for a second time last summer. Not out of animosity (they said it with a smile), but just because these two never quit. The other example was when Sara was coaching the twins, so I got to go around and mingle as director of the rec side. Former parents had come back to watch some of the kids play (their kids moved to travel) and one of them couldn't get over how well Logan was playing on the field. I remarked, "wait until you see the other one," and Lucas came on and scored 3 goals in under 2 minutes. The parent responded, "I've never seen anything like this!" So for that, Northern Lights and Ramsey, thank you. The privilege of raising these kids on your streets and using your fields and running your program is my favorite memory, and I hope I was able to provide for you what you gave to me and my family. We may be joining a new community and eventually a new soccer club, but Northern Lights will always be our team.

P.S. I know a few of you may read this, and I'm glad to call you guys my friends, and your children my pupils, but my fall team of the 2015 season was one of the great coaching experiences of my life, and the reason why I want to continue doing it in this sport. I am so thankful that your 8 children (including Aiden) were a part of that group. There was a lot of talent in that team, but more importantly to me, a lot of character and leadership qualities and I know that each one of those kids is going to grow up to do something special. I hope I get to continue to see them grow.