Whenever I visit a university town, I feel rejuvenated. I feel younger, maybe because of all the nostalgia that floods me and my mind jaunts to the days when I was in college.
A couple of weekends ago, we helped our daughter empty her dorm room at UVA and move her stuff back home for the summer. The drive to Charlottesville is very scenic, especially this time of the year with the trees showing off their fresh green foliage. And then as we arrived in Charlottesville, as it happens every time, I "feel" the town.
That day was "move-out day." Our daughter is a young lady now, mature and in control. She had all her things packed and ready to load.
"The first 2 bags," she said, pointing to the sea humongous black trash bags, "are shoes and the next two are hangers."
"Your shoes are in two bags?" I asked.
"Yeah, just two. Most of my shoes are at home. These are my winter & spring shoes."
As I was carrying two large trash bags to our SUV, one filled with hangers and the other with shoes, one of the parents I crossed on the way smiled at me.
"Yours must be a girl," she said, pointing to the bags on my shoulders.
"That's right," I smiled back.
"Ours is a boy and his entire stuff is in one bag," she smiled. And I could see that she loved being there, helping her son. As were we.... just happy to be with our daughter, spending time with her. Kids grow up and carve their own path. We see less of them as they get older, but the "family thread" binds us together, wherever we are. So whatever time we get to spend with them is a blessing. That is what makes a family, being there and creating beautiful moments, so that we have wonderful memories to look back to. Here's a definition of family.....
Families are a unique little band of characters trudging through life sharing colds and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, borrowing money, locking each other out of rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that binds us all together.
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