Every Mile

Yesterday was my day to visit a friend who lives in Williamstown. Lucky for me, it had snowed the day before, and the snow clinging to every branch made for a very pretty drive. Lucky for me, this drive happens to be the same exact one I used to take to get to college. A trip down memory lane, if you will.

I took Church Street, the one that goes by the first dorm I stayed in. For the first time in years, I scanned the windows of the 6th floor, remembering the people who had lived in each of those rooms. Most all of the shades were pulled tight; hardly surprising at 9am Sunday on a college campus.

I passed the gates that I had walked through as a naïve freshman and as a seasoned senior. I drove alongside the sidewalk that I had walked hundreds of times, with friends and with Steve. I saw the bench on which I had confessed a secret to my then-best friend, and I passed the pizzeria where the lady knew what Steve and I wanted as soon as walked in. (Mozzarella sticks and two hot ham & cheese grinders, please).

It was all the same but all very different.

On my way home from Williamstown, I took the street that goes by the other part of campus. I spied a snow covered slipper on the lawn of one of the off campus houses and was reassured that things hadn't changed that much in eight years.

No, make that nine. Almost nine years exactly since we had graduated from this place. The realization hit me that, however way you spin in, it's been almost a decade. Then I thought of my husband and two kids at home, and thought that maybe nine years sounded about right. Life's changed a bit.

I enjoyed that drive so much yesterday. Every mile brought a buried memory to the surface. Lucky for me, I live relatively close-by and can come visit this place most any time I'd like. Lucky for me, I met the love of my life there, and he proposed to me there, so few places will ever hold a spot so close to my heart.