May 2

It really doesn't seem like it's been 15 years since I finished college. It's almost as if I blinked a few times and bam, here I am. Fortunately, I have no great regrets. It's been great to be in Claremont this weekend, wandering around the school and getting little whiffs of the past in the form of a sight here or a smell there.

Minor troubles and stressors aside, my college experience was a positive one, and it served as the staging area for much of my life. I met Adam here, I met some pretty awesome lifelong-worthy friends here, and I learned a lot about what it means to be a good, thoughtful person here.

And even beyond all of those wonderful things, I think I got my first taste of what it felt like to really rely on God to carry me through tough times while I was here. So for all of that --for the memories and the laughs and the fun of remembering and even the harder times that still make me wince when they come to mind-- I'm thankful. Without any one of them, I wouldn't truly be the me I was intended to be.

But before I close out for the night, I have to address one of these photos in particular: the one that features the fountain. I liked the fountains while I was a student (well, except the days when I was thrown into them, but that's another tale in and of itself for the non-initiated), but I didn't love this one until about seven years ago. We were down in Southern California for one reason for another and decided to stop by campus for a quick visit. Abby and Logan were young, and we paused beside this particular fountain for a little break. Adam and I turned our heads for --literally-- about 20 seconds, and when we whirled around again, we found a buck-naked Logan happily splashing in the water. He was having a great time; he'd instinctively ripped off his clothes and jumped in. No inhibitions. So unlike both of us. So incredibly amazing and free. We had a fit laughing before we scooped him out of the water, but the mental soundtrack from that little vignette in time really stuck with me.

He didn't get to be with us here for long, but it took him just seconds to make a memory for me to carry around in my heart. He didn't get to go to school here or grow up or meet scores of people, but he was here in this place that matters so much to our family's history. And being able to remember him here means so much.