When we live somewhere for a long period of time, we become comfortable. Although we may know that this amazing restaurant is downtown, that beautiful park is just north of the city, those quaint historic streets are perfect for a stroll, and that farmers' market is just down the road …we sometimes forget that these lovely gems are at our fingertips.

Similarly, I think that this pandemic has caused many of us to feel temporarily separated from this amazing place in which we live, as if we have all been living elsewhere for a while. Now that a greater sense of ease has coaxed us out of our familiar four walls, it feels like many of us are experiencing our Milwaukee with a renewed appreciation and the mindful presence of everything that surrounds us.

After a run along the Milwaukee River the other day, I couldn’t help but smile as I stretched in our city’s greenspace and drank in the beautiful sights: cheerful children tumbling on the lawn, toddlers teetering around a sandy baseball diamond with their dad in tow, and a couple grinning as they pushed their infant in a stroller in the warm glow of afternoon sunshine. The air was filled with laughter of friends reuniting and kids shrieking with joy and birds chirping. The sun glimmered on the blades of grass that turned emerald overnight, and lilacs filled the air with the subtlest aroma of a promise: Warmth. Summer. Transformation. And Hope.

Jordan Peschek, RN-BSN, Publisher