if tomorrow wasn't such a long time (May 09)

Not everyone who leaves a campus wants to come back, and I understand this. Attending reunions, donating to the college, and roaming the buildings post-graduation is not appealing to some people. But, for a good number, returning to a place like this provokes such an overwhelming response, sometimes it's best to pause and take it in.

Hopefully Liv won't hold this photo against me. Last May, she came to visit our little group of friends in the cities, and had time to come down to Northfield over the weekend. As it turns out, her visit to town was the same day as our college's graduation. Unlike our own ceremony the previous May, this occasion was sunny, warm, and picturesque (ours was held indoors to avoid rain, turning the entire auditorium into a sea of sweaty parents and dripping mortarboards). I sat with Liv on the hillside, watching the Class of 2009 process down the side of the hill and to the stadium. We trailed them to a vantage point above the field, where we could see them diligently line up in rows to sit and listen to the commencement speakers. The college hymn began, and it was all we could take; Liv, wiping her eyes, took a moment. My parents, who trailed behind me, both got choked up as they realized one kid graduated the previous year and the last kid would graduate in the coming year. And, there's no better recipe for a show of public emotion than when you mix the beauty of our campus with our college hymn AND the celebratory nature of the day.

So, this week, we say goodbye to the Class of 2010. I am blue. It is infinitely worse to attend graduations when siblings are involved, as my brother is graduating. I know I'm not the only one, but there's nothing I can't stand more than when I cry in public. Unfortunately for me, there's also nothing like 1. the Olympics, including commercials (heart-wrenching!), and 2. graduations to make me blubber. It's tough stuff. I think the tougher situation is the realization that for both kids in my family, it's time to grow up, and move on into the stage of "real life." The relatively carefree days of college classes, breaks, and summer vacations have come to an end.

To maintain any sense of the past, it's a good idea to return to places of significant impact. Even though I roam this campus on a daily basis, at times I have flashbacks of moments I knew would leave a mark. I'm fascinated by the effect a simple plot of land with buildings can have on a person.