Homecoming madness

The first Homecoming back after graduating was...well, interesting. Some people changed, some didn't. One of the biggest surprises for me was that Eric showed up. It's funny how I didn't realize how much I missed him until I saw him. Not only that, but he changed his political views, which surprised me a lot. Eric has always been one of the proudest, most stubborn people I've ever met. The fact that he really thought about things going on and changed his mind struck me as being a really courageous thing to do. Maybe you'd call it flip-flopping, as many seem so fond of saying, but I would call it reevaluating the facts and making a new decision. Why should you feel constrained to stay with a decision if you have changed, or the facts have changed, or the situation has changed?

I had, overall, a great time seeing all the fellow alumni again. We formed an actual team for the home cross country meet, and actually beat one of the real collegiate teams, although we were unscored officially. It was really fun to run together again, especially the no-pressure part. I ran kind of fast for a while and then slowed down. Teehee. I helped one of the girls on the Knox team sprint into the finish. She puked in the chute, but then she thanked me for helping her. Yipe! But it was really neat to do that, and it made me feel like I was doing a good deed, which of course is always nice.

For some reason I felt really tired all weekend, and an attempt to drink on Saturday night didn't really pan out. I ended up feeling kind of sick instead, although I felt fine by the time we got to the bar. By this time though it was getting kind of late to get started on drinking, and Mark and I were both broke to boot, so we ended up hanging out for a while with Eric and others, and then walking back to the TKE house. That was boring, so we left and walked around for a while before bed. Mark said something really sad as we left the house--"The whole reason I'm a TKE is in that house right now." The guys two or three years older than him, like Eric, are the ones who got him to join, and that was fine, but then they graduated, and the house has changed much in just a few years. Mark's class is really the last "good" class. After they leave, I wouldn't be surprised if they're shut down again, from the rumors of stuff going on there I've heard. Hmph.

Michelle and Margaret were quite able to get drunk Saturday, and for the time we were together, had a great time. I was partly consoled by, if maybe a LITTLE jealous of, the fact that at least THEY were having a good time. But I found out today that it later went downhill for them and turned into this drama-filled misery. Sean is leaving soon, shipping out for Iraq. Can this not happen? Eric said he might have to go too. He joined the reserve, and he is currently in military police academy. The awful possibilities inherent make everything just too emotional, I think. Today I hugged Sean tight and honestly did not want to let go. What if I never see him again? What if Margaret never sees him again (well, she probably will before he leaves, but still)?

Ellie said it best, I think: "It's like we didn't miss a beat, but it's also like I miss you guys so much." Or something like that. That's definitely what the whole weekend was like.