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Office sleepover eliminated need for stressful winter drive

Subhead
Ruminations
Lead Summary
By
Mavis Fodness, reporter

I recently enjoyed a sleepover at the office.
The admission left some people aghast and astonished that I lived through the night.
I saw it as a practical solution to not worry about poor driving conditions. (I envied editor Lori for taking a well-needed vacation to Florida.)
The weather forecast for Jan. 3-4 called for rain and snow followed by strong winds. Tuesdays are press days – Jan. 3 was a Tuesday.
With no one in the office Jan. 2 due to the holiday, I set up my new home.
Food in the fridge.
Car in the garage.
Lights and heat all working.
With a suitcase in the corner, I put on my slippers, turned on some music, and sat down to work at my desk.
Most of the sleepover time was spent in front of my computer. I finished stories, designed layout, cleaned out emails and happily munched on the plethora of food I brought along.
Because I am in a wellness program, the office is a large place to get steps in, complete strength exercises, and as it turned out, the needed four-hour nap on a camp cot, pillow and sleeping bag I brought along in case I got tired.
There were no bat sightings.
No scary noises or people looking through the windows.
Main Street Luverne was busy at 4 a.m. Tuesday as snow removal crews took to scraping and sweeping the sidewalks.
By 6 a.m. the predicted blizzard started in earnest. By 7 a.m. even visibility in the middle of town was diminished. I felt good about the decision to camp out in the office.
As a result, the Jan. 5 edition of the Star Herald was finished by deadline and emailed to the printers. All done without a nail-biting drive to work, because I was already here.
After a job well done, I looked forward to going home to rural Hardwick.
Except I couldn’t leave town.
Due to the 20 inches of snow, the township road leading to home was blocked and the strong winds reduced visibility.
I no longer have a desire to drive in a blizzard or any desire to spend a night in a snowbank.
For my second sleepover night in Luverne, the Star Herald graciously put me in the Sunrise Extended Stay in Luverne and manager Rick shuttled me to and from the office.
I won’t lie … a shower was much appreciated.
So was the control of the television remote.
I was asleep by 7 p.m. and slept through the night.
By noon Wednesday, Jan. 4, I was on my way home. Snow crews had roads scraped to the surface and I met my hubby moving snow into piles around the farm yard.
Within 30 minutes of pulling into the driveway, I shoveled snow away from the garage doors, emptied the car and donned my work coat and overalls to do animal chores.
I completed more snow removal around the barns, filled hay mangers, and emptied manure from the barn.
Inside the house, there was laundry to do and dishes to be washed.
While the office sleepover provided a welcome respite from everyday chores, the return home felt good.

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