Reunited

Believe it or not, it has been 10 years since I graduated college. I had not been back to my Eastern University, my alma mater's campus since probably 2005, but it seemed to me that 10 years out is a good time to make the trip.

The mountains of SWVA were misty and colorful and wise-looking. 

We made the trip to Annapolis on Friday, got caught in the usually beastly DC traffic, and spent the night with Jon's family. Saturday morning, it was up and at em and depart at 7am for Pennsylvania. 

He was thrilled to cross the Bay Bridge from Annapolis to the Eastern Shore.

The grey and gloom of the weather did not much diminish the beauty of the campus. It's got such a different style from Virginia Tech, and is, of course, orders of magnitude smaller, but I'm not sure it's less lovely. 

Walton Pond, a familar view.

We started the day with at tour at the Bradstreet Observatory, where the kids each got to try a hand at controlling the telescopes. Jon and I both took cosmology and astronomy, though I took both as lab credits. This meant that I had to got to spend hours of two of my semesters at Eastern taking photos of celestial objects and preparing a binder of images for a grade. It was awesome to be back and see Dr. Bradstreet and Steve, his assistant, again! The kids are thrilled (well, mostly Miles) because they got to meet a real astronomy and to see a real, state-of-the-art telescope! Sadly, the weather did not cooperate enough to make star-gazing possible. 

We followed the tour with a planetarium show at the Julia Fowler Planetarium. I can't... emotionally contain or describe how it felt to hear one of my favorite professors describe the wonders of the universe again. To have my kids with me and see their wonder ignite, too... defies expression. I was totally high on nostalgia, science, and God. 

Next: to the homecoming tents!

It's so bizarre to watch one's child walk to one's old college dorm. 

Good old water-wheel. Same as ever.

One important landmark, at a park next to campus, is the little pond and park where Jon asked me to marry him, nearly 10 years ago. 

This little walk around a little pond found 18 and 19 year old us strolling in all seasons. This is where we went to blow off steam during stressful times in the semester, where we told each other our stories, and shared our aspirations and hopes.

It's possible, were such things possible to pin-point, that we fell in love on this path.
It's also possible we fell in love in a letter, but that's even harder to determine.

It was just as lovely a walk in April, when Jon proposed in 2005.

Here's the approximate spot where the magic happened:

 Jon had hidden champagne in a bush. and his friends, as photographers, across the pond. We have a whole album in print of the occasion, but alas, no scanner!

Sometimes I resent that so much of my life was in the pre-digital-revolution. 

Below, Miles perfects his portrait-taking:

I only wish he were as good at posing for pictures as he is at being in them. And then there's Adele... <3 br="">

After enjoying some EU homecoming soccer, field hockey and ultimate frisbee, and after Adele learned to make friends with the mascot, we watched the step team (a group I remember fondly from my Eastern days!) perform: 

They're so much fun.

Next, we had some hot drinks at my old workplace, the coffee shop and espresso bar, The Jammin' Java. 

So many late nights here... so many performances, meetings, meals, long talks, and regular nights at work, steaming milk and cleaning the floors at closing. I felt like the Ghost of Christmas Past was taking me on a personalized tour.

The evening found us at a wine and hors d'oeuvres event for graduates of the Templeton Honors College, to which Jon and I both belonged. We got to catch up with old professors, meet more recent alumni (I was a part of the second ever cohort of the THC), and see our old friends- and some of their offspring!

Our friends Tim & Karin have a son, Ben, who's just a few months older than Miles. 

Miles & Ben share a love for bow ties. 

These two have a history. They've played together at Tim and Karin's when we've visited before, and they met up last spring at the Baltimore Aquarium. Here, they meet for the very first time, ages 3 weeks and 7 months, respectively:

I got to meet some babies and toddlers for the very first time, though, and we stayed much, much longer than we'd anticipated. Bless the THC for arranging for a coloring table. 

We're back in Blacksburg, though, as of about 9 last night. The car is having its very first post-warranty repair. Not bad for a 5.5 year old vehicle, though. 

The car troubles meant I got to take Miles to the bus stop this morning. 

Will he look more sophisticated when he's a college student? I can't see how.