The sun starts to set earlier getting into the later part of August. I noticed that tonight as I went for an evening walk through the neighborhood. The temps are cooler. The air is drier. And every time this part of the summer comes by I start to think that I need to pack up my things and head back up to UND.
I caught myself thinking about that tonight as I remembered that it was 25 years ago this very evening that I was preparing myself for that trip up to Grand Forks for my freshman year. Can it be 25 years already I thought to myself. It only makes sense that we celebrated our 25th High School Reunion just a few short weeks ago. 25 years....in the blink of an eye.
I remember that last evening in Andover, hanging out with my friends. We were going to set the world on fire. Each of us were going to conquer our own little chunk and laugh mightily in the faces of those who thought we wouldn't succeed. Who am I kidding, we didn't have a clue what was going to happen. All we really knew that night was that it wasn't going to be the same anymore. It didn't matter how much time we would spend over Christmas, Spring, or Summer breaks....it was never going to be the same.
We spent some time at our neighbors across the street, and then we took a slow stroll to my house. I'd taken that walk many a time in my childhood, but the dew seemed heavier, the crickets louder, and the trail a little darker. We stood in my driveway a little while, making small talk, telling each other that we'd write, we'd call, dammit, it's only a couple of hours away so we'd all be there for each other no matter what. But then it was time to say goodbye. We hugged and shook hands, and as I think back now I guess maybe I cried a little bit.
As I watched my friends walk back across the street to my neighbors I suddenly felt alone, and that I wouldn't have that security around me anymore, and I didn't like that feeling one bit. But in the same respect I knew that I needed to start growing up, to take responsibility, to move with purpose. After all, I was a 17 year old kid moving 300 miles away to learn how to fly airplanes. And grow up I did. It wasn't always pretty, but it was was with purpose.
Part of my walk takes me around a holding pond. In the pond are some waterfowl that I can see making ripples in the calm water. I can feel the heavy dew in the air. I can hear the crickets loudly chirping. But my path is not that dark. I move with purpose, with responsibility. I may not fly airplanes anymore but I know a hell of a lot about them. I'm in touch with most of that group of friends. In our own ways we've taken a chunk out of life, and brought a new generation into this world. In a few years our kids will be embark on their own journeys....in the blink of an eye.
