This time of staying close to home has been stressful in many ways, and I find myself trying to stay grounded with a daily walk around Three Rivers.
One of the things I’ve always loved about living downtown is the combination of urban amenities and access to nature. Each of the three rivers that converge a block from my apartment has a different character.
We can get to know bodies of water like we get to know people: with patient attention over time, always prepared to be surprised and poised to fall in love. These rivers are many generations older than my grandparents, and I stand in awe of who they are, what they know, and all they have experienced.
Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma lives in Three Rivers, Michigan thanks to a Sunday drive her grandparents decided to take years before she was born. Pleasant Lake was the setting for many of her dreams as a child, and now the intersection of the Rocky, St. Joseph and Portage Rivers is the setting for her dreams as an adult. Daily life includes collaborative shenanigans at World Fare and the Huss Project, along with managing GilChrist Retreat Center in the rolling hills just west of Three Rivers.
