Reunion fun

(by JPC)

We had a wonderful time at my reunion last weekend! I was able to reconnect with many of my former classmates and we had the fun of introducing our families to each other. Ellie was quite a trooper throughout the trip! She "suffered" through lots of traveling, a night in the dorms, and far less sleep than she's used to. Still she was able to maintain her happy demeanor most of the time. I was even told by 2 people that she should be a model :-)

Being there for the weekend was a wonderful reminder of my college years. I was lucky enough to spend that time on one of the most beautiful college campuses around (not just as judged by me but by one of those college ranking magazines, too!) and more importantly was lucky enough to spend that time with some of the most amazing people I will ever meet. During reunion we spent a lot of time with one of my friends in particular and she kept reminding me of things that we had done. I think I had forgotten just how much fun we really had. At the time, you are in the midst of the experience and sometimes don't realize how great it is. I guess that's true for many things.

We were walking around campus and Lori made the comment that we need to start saving money now because if this is where Ellie wants to go in the future, then we have to make it happen. Although that may not actually be realistic, I do hope that Ellie finds an environment that is so accepting and supportive of an individual's development. I am incredibly thankful to MY parents for making it happen for me. I know that it wasn't easy for them, even if at the time I didn't really understand that.

Now for some pictures....

We had a lot of traffic heading up to New England on Friday afternoon, which was not a surprise, but Ellie slept for 1 1/2 hours of the 4+ hour drive. She was in a good mood when she woke up and Mommy kept her entertained and happy the rest of the way!

We met up with one of my dearest friends from college. We wish that she and her family lived closer! She has 2 daughters, one is a year older than Ellie and one is a year younger than Ellie.

Ellie taking a peak at the youngest...

And trying to keep up with the oldest!

Ellie was up late so she joined us for my class party. She had an apple while we had beer!

Ellie snuggled up with mama in our dorm room twin bed. We expected a long and sleepless night, but once Ellie fell asleep around 10 pm, we didn't hear a peep from her until 5 am. It was an early morning but we had prepared for worse! We all went on a morning walk around the lake and sat by the waterfall before most were up for the day. The dorm we stayed in happened to be the dorm I lived in my senior year. We went exploring and I was able to show Lori where my old room was in the basement. There were 7 of us down there that year who picked to live in the basement together. It still has the same funny smell 10 years later!

The Laurel Parade is the day before graduation. The alumnae and current graduates all wear white and walk through campus to the grave site of the founder of the school. The parade is in chronological order so that it starts with the oldest gradautes (from the 1930s!) and ends with the current graduates. Those of us who are there for big reunions walk in the middle, sorted by class year. It's an amazing experience, especially as a new grad. You walk through the campus roads which are lined with friends and family who are all cheering for you. We all cried during the parade but the tears really came when the new grads walked through and you could see their excitement and tears.

After the parade, we all settled down for a BBQ on the green. Ellie had lots of fun playing with the big girls! In the 2nd shot below, Ellie actually caught the ball that was thrown to her and I just happened to catch it on film. Maybe she will get a scholarship someday!

Ellie savors her first taste of watermelon

At the crew reunion with other rowers from my class and our coach

The drive home was only 3 1/2 hours, of which Ellie slept 2. We were all exhasuted that night but had such a wonderful time. I'm already looking forward to my 25th (Ellie will be 16 - oh, gosh!)