August 21, 2019 |

Everything Old is New Again

My wife and I moved our daughter into college this week.  This is the baby of the family, so it’s going to be a change for all of us this time.  She chose my alma mater, which has been a pretty awesome thing for me.  I haven’t spent a lot of time there since graduation and while much was familiar, there were plenty of new things to see and learn.

When we arrived at the residence hall for check-in, there was music playing.  It was The Beatles.  Then Rush.  And lots of ‘80s.  I chuckled to myself.  “Our generation really does have the best music,” I thought.

After decorating the dorm room for a couple of hours, it was time for lunch.  We went to one of the landmark places on campus that I used to frequent myself.  It looks the same, it smells the same, and the guests are still a mixed bag of diversity.  Nationality, dress, some preppy and some that looked like they need a bath, haircut and a shave.  Some apparent career-students who just couldn’t bear existing outside the college aesthetic.  Aside from the prevalence of parents at most of the tables, it was like I stepped back into the same movie.  It created a weird cognitive dissonance.  Joe Walsh comes to mind, “Everybody’s so different; I haven’t changed.”

At the end of the day, it was that time.  We hugged and said our goodbyes.  It went pretty well…just a few tears.  A sad but necessary rite of passage for parent and child alike.  I shook my head.  Wow, that was a fast 18 years.

Who would have thought that 35 years ago, when I left campus, that I would be back someday for four more years?  Life is a journey.  God is good.  And everything old is new again.