The More Things Change

Mile Marker 132:

Do you think we’ll feel old?  e-mailed my college friend Linda.   

No, I said to myself.  The only thing I’ll feel is that I have ONE LEG.

They won't get it, I thought.

We were gearing up for our 20-year reunion at Northwestern, and I was going to see some of my BEST FRIENDS in the world.  But I was afraid I'd changed too much.  That nothing would feel the same.

On Friday afternoon, I headed to the airport -- luggage, leg, and all.  My parents wheeled me through security and waited outside my glass cubicle while the TSA folks scrambled to find a female agent to pat me down. 

I felt many things – anxious, excited, wary, frustrated -- but OLD was not one of them.  In fact, sorting out the seating arrangement on the plane with Mom and Dad, I felt very, very YOUNG.

But we made it.

Welcome to Chicago!

Mile 132 began with a Saturday morning jaunt around Northwestern’s campus with friends -- Wendy, Shelley, Linda, and Debbie -- and family – Andy, Nina, Mom, and Dad.

So much was unchanged.  Lake Michigan still pelted the eastern shore.   Fisk Hall was crawling with red and gold ivy.  The Norris Center Bookstore still sold sweatshirts.  Our old dorm still had the same couches (ewww!) 

Students jogged past us on the Lakefill.  I remembered playing flag football and soccer there, walking on the rocky cliffs, tiptoeing across the lake’s frozen waves in the winter, and tanning on the beach as soon as the thermometer hit 45 degrees. 

Wendy pointed out that we should have enjoyed it more while it lasted; we'd probably never afford such property again in our lives!

But these memories didn’t make me yearn for a younger time.  They made me yearn for FREEDOM.

For me, the campus paths wound longer and steeper and curvier than they were before.  The rocks along the lake were tilted and tricky;  to stay upright, I grabbed for my friends’ hands.  And the idea of climbing up 4 flights of stairs to see my old dorm room --  I decided to put that off till our next reunion!

At the football game Saturday night, Wendy and Linda dropped me off at the gate before they parked the car.  Shelley helped me side-step my way across the crowded bleachers.   And Northwestern didn’t disappoint us.   Sure, we were defeated by Penn State.  But really, would it have felt like old times if we’d WON?!

After the game we dined with even more friends – Vimla, Sean, and Sheila -- at Dave’s Italian Kitchen.  Our favorite dive had moved from its ramshackle hideaway under the EL to a bigger, shinier space in central Evanston.  But you still couldn’t beat the food…or the company!

And the next morning, we celebrated the end of our whirlwind visit with five of the newest additions since graduation –

Neela, Alisha, Tara, Emma, and Nathan.

But even with the kids around, I didn’t feel old.  (SHORT maybe, but not old!)  

And there were even a few brief moments when I stopped thinking about my leg.

As friends, we’ve seen each other through dorm drama, boyfriend breakups, loss of loved ones, and serious sickness.  We’ve driven cross-country, visited each other's hometowns, stayed up all night, and biked Lake Shore Drive together.  We know each other's dreams as well as we know our own.

Of course, they couldn't get exactly what it’s been like for me this past year. 

But that's all right because they GET ME. 

And this weekend, like always, I got their ok.

Andy and Nina shopped for essentials I couldn't carry on the plane.  Linda helped me set up the hotel bathroom so I could reach everything on my crutches.  Wendy offered a hand so I could climb out on the rocks.  Vimla rescued us at the stadium when our car was parked miles away.  And Shelley drove me back to the hotel when I was too exhausted to take another step.

When I popped off my leg as soon as I arrived at the hotel, they didn't blink an eye.  And when it took me three tries to put it on in the morning, they were ok with that too.

Of course, we were amazed at ALL THE YEARS that'd had gone by.  We laughed that our parents were our age when we first moved into the dorm.    That this year’s freshmen class wasn't even born when we were freshmen!   And that our kids (I consider them mine, too!) – are now closer to college age than we are.

But we didn’t dwell on these things.  Our friendship is stronger than both AGE and ACCIDENTS.

On the flight back, O’Hare’s full body scanner made the Philly security system look like a circus.  Mom, Dad, and I zipped to the gate, stopped for some Garrett's Popcorn, and then packed onto our over-booked flight like seasoned sardines.  

Before I knew it, I was back in my house.   And I’d been wearing my leg for 16 hours straight!  

I never claimed to feel old.   Just different.  

But it's good to know that some things will always be the same, no matter how many years -- or miles -- apart.

Love you guys!