Perspective

“I think this is it” I comment to my son as we turn right down a street. The looming gate with restricted access surprises me, but a walk-through to the side seems to welcome us in. Lullwater Park, or Preserve, as I guess it is now known seems the same, only slightly different. The road is smoothly paved, was it gravel before? The gate is formidable and freshly painted.. I don’t remember a gate, and there are deer everywhere- that is clearly different! Have Georgians stopped hunting? I’m guessing not, but imagine the name preserve means they are safe here… and everywhere we turn we see more of them! As we descend further down the hill, I’m flooded, almost overcome, by a rush of memories. 26 years. Has it been so long? I look to my side to see my son towering above me chatting away about the fantasy of living in the President’s house as security detail. Cool shaded air, the sounds of the nearby campus and city begin to fade away as we melt into another world. This I remember. How many runs here? Walks? Walks with my new Great Dane puppy Morgan that I got as a senior to keep me company on my pre-dawn runs, but who didn’t like to get up pre-dawn! I taught her to swim here in Candler lake. God, to this day I cry when I think about that dog. I miss her still.

Deer Everywhere in Lullwater Preserve

The campus is a hot mess. There is construction everywhere, but the basics remain the same. Even in the chaos of construction, it is still a pretty campus. I still found the quad, my freshman dorm and my home away from home – the pool. I was never super fast. Just persistent, and loved every minute of being on that team and the improvements I saw in myself and my teammates physically and mentally. The coach has changed, as has the now famed, nationally successful, program, but many of the pictures on the walls remain the same and I see the names and faces of my teammates lining the entrance.

I struggle to find the off campus areas to take my son for lunch and dinner- this is new territory. I start to wonder if I ate in college. I remember being horrifically thin and on a ridiculously lean budget. I never ate off campus. Ramen noodles, carnation instant breakfast, Mac and cheese and microwaved potatoes and the occasional amazing carrot cake care package are all I remember- plus the free crackers and jelly from the cafeteria (which were no longer free my second semester- likely due to my massive consumption of these upon running out of money halfway through my first semester) and grits. Emory is no doubt where I got my love of grits… cheap (even at Emory), filling and could be mixed with cheese or butter, or cheese and butter. Grits were a mainstay of my diet in college.

Wow. 26 years. And now here I am giving my kid a tour of the campus. While I hope he will have food, he will have to learn all those things we go to college to learn.. and obviously only a small part of that is truly academics! How to budget money, drink responsibly, live with a room mate, be a team member, budget your time, study, network, fall in love, deal with a breakup, say no to drugs and or other negativity that tries to lure you off your path, and how to find you, your best you, your intended you, your useful you.

Am I really so old?

Now, of course, I visit with a totally different perspective. One of gratitude, curiosity, and interest as I watch my child try to navigate the next stage of his life.

So yes. I guess I am that old and happy to have made it this far!

❤️