Nostalgia...

It's nice to return to a place that was so important to you and where you made so many memories. And when you arrive at that place, you get this feeling of butterflies in your stomach, like you are a little kid again, going to Kennywood or something. This is how I felt this past weekend when John and I drove to Meadville, PA to my Alma mater Allegheny College. The new swim team coach organized a pretty remarkable reunion for the swim team alumni to honor the former coach, Tom Erdos, who resigned last year after holding the position for 31 years. The turn-out was fantastic...almost 40 alumni showed (spanning from the graduating classes of 1976 to 2007). The best part of the weekend was the participation of most of the alumni in a friendly swim meet against the current team. I am sure you are thinking...what a joke. Despite the fact that it was quite humorous...it was great fun and not as embarrassing for a lot of the "older folks." Almost all the guys swam (John even joined in the fun, as an Edinboro swim team alumnus, he swam at the Gator pool a few times as an opponent). Only 6 girls were brave enough to darn our Speedos, caps, and goggles (yes, I was one of them). At the end of the meet, a few of the members of the current team complimented us by saying "We hope that we are in as good shape as you guys are when we are older." Although the fact that we are old was thrown back in our faces, it was nice to hear.

There was just something so nostalgic about swimming in that pool again. I even found myself missing it...not the pool itself, but what it represented. And what it represented is what made those butterflies flutter in my stomach...the friendships, the teammates, the fun times, and even the hard times. I cherish those memories that were made at Allegheny, and I always will.

Since we have been home, John continues to comment on the weekend and how much fun it was and how he wishes his team could do the same. They did try to do it this past winter, but we didn't attend due to short notice. We decided that we will definitely go next year if Edinboro tries to plan another one. In these conversations, he even wonders what would everything be like if he went to Allegheny instead of Edinboro. To this I say - please don't wonder, our paths met up at a certain point for a reason. If our pasts were different, we probably wouldn't be where we are today: in love, married, and perfectly happy!