A Return Home

I don't even know how it came up, but somehow on the way to Grandma Judy's party we started talking about Wittenberg. Before I knew what was happening, Brad was insisting we go to Wittenberg on our way home Wednesday. 

I haven't been back since before the kids were born, and it was a very different experience for me now. With some distance, I'm even more grateful for all that Wittenberg gave me and how it shaped me. And although this isn't the most flattering picture, I think this about sums up how I felt:

 Our first stop was 110 West Northern, where Tay and I spent our last year. I'm not gonna lie: it needs some love:

 Mom insists it needed love when I lived there, but the kids were a bit shocked I love that house so much.

From there, I realized the main street is now a pedestrian walk way. We found our way behind the student center and made our way through the main gates:

 We parked on the hill, and I loved showing the kids which room had been my window in Meyers Hall:

 We walked to the seal, careful not to walk on it:

 And we wandered into Blair Hall, the education building. I checked the listing, and only one faculty member from my time there is still at Witt, and they have completely gutted the inside of the building! Dr. T.'s old office is now all glass and is the department office. I couldn't even walk down the hallways. I want to remember the building that made me a teacher.

From there, we introduced the kids to Wally Witt:

The Student Center felt exactly the same, and the library is unchanged. I pointed out the old honors house, and we wandered Hollenbeck Hall, where seven of my professors are still in the same offices. No one was on campus, but it felt good just to touch their doors and remember with the kiddos.
We ended our tour at Mike and Rosie's, which is still just as yummy as ever.

I've been trying to find the words since we left. Maybe it's because I work with college students every day that I'm more aware of the impact those years have on a person. Maybe I've grown enough to be truly grateful for every experience I had on that campus. Maybe it's having my children there with me, telling them all the reasons they should be Tigers. I don't know.  What I do know is I still get teary everytime I think about that morning. I do know I will be forever grateful to the people who touched my life at Witt--professors and friends. And I do know I pray my children find a place that makes them feel the same way...