Oklahoma Baptist University

Kyle, Colin and I traveled to Shawnee, OK on Friday. It was homecoming. This is always a very big deal at OBU because it is a small university, and coming back for a reunion means you see lots of people that you know. I don't know if it's this way at a large state school, but it's amazing how both Kyle and I have traded high school reunions for college reunions. This was my 20th reunion. It is absolutely impossible that I graduated college 20 years ago. Where did these years go? As Colin and I walked around the campus, I did a great job of biting my tongue, but finally I had to say it regardless of how old it made me sound: "These college students look so young!" Of course they do. They are only a few years older than my son. Colin is interested in attending OBU, which is funny in a way. I couldn't wait to leave and hoped that if I ever had kids, they would branch out a little more than I did. I mean, really...it's Shawnee, Oklahoma. But it seems to be the place that Colin is thinking about and it would be a good fit for him. I have come full circle. It's amazing how in life we do that, and before we realize it, the circle seems okay.

As Colin and I walked around the campus, I - like the old woman I am - began to think back on those college days, and the memories came fast and furious. Colin was gracious, and he listened to me as I ambled down memory lane. If I had a scanner that worked I would have scanned beautiful photos of Kyle and I in our glory days...matching Bruce Springsteen t-shirts and tan faces and smiles without wrinkles. But my scanner is on the blink so you will have to use your imagination. We loved U2's October, voted for Walter Mondale, believed that Dr. Joe Hall was on to something with all his talk of peace and constructive survival. We watched David Letterman late at night and griped about all the Baptist craziness. But we loved our school, despite the fact that we were often fish swimming up the stream.

I missed my 20th reunion, actually. We left last night, and didn't come back today for the luncheon because we had lots of other obligations and Kyle is tired from the Ethiopia trip. I saw my best OBU friend, Steffani, and relived all the great memories and shared them with my son, so I did all I needed to do in Shawnee. I waved goodbye and wondered if the next time I come back will I be bringing my son back to begin his own memories on Bison hill. It's a nice thought actually. I wonder if they still make them learn Ka-rip? I don't think I'll tell him about that.