January Hikes in the Sun

We've had some great outdoors days.  Before it got really warm yesterday, we went for a walk with Eliot in the pack.  He had skipped his second nap, so I figured he'd be very ready for bed when we got home.  Instead, he fell asleep in the backpack.

Today, we headed to Farmville to walk the High Bridge Trail.  Before we went to the parking lot, though, we wandered Longwood's campus.  Christopher and I went there for undergrad and we hadn't been back since the summer we graduated in 2007.  We have driven through a couple of times on our way back to Chesapeake, but we haven't gotten out and walked around.

We went by Grainger, the Department of English and Modern Languages.  So many hours spent in that building.... 

Then we sat on a bench on Brock Commons.  I remember reading Dryden for the first time on that bench.

We walked the Colonades by Ruffner.  We thought about our first Chi walk, one of Longwood's two secret societies.

We walked with Eliot on the lawn in front of Wheeler, where we walked to graduate in May 2007.

I'm happy to say that we both looked back on our time at Longwood fondly.  As we walked around campus, it felt like any other day in undergrad.  We would go to class and meet under the Magnolia trees afterward to then get lunch at the dining hall.  Then we'd read, write, and study together at Christopher's apartment followed by learning how to cook together in his kitchen.  It all feels so recent, just a year ago, not four and a half.

Back then, we had no money, like most undergraduates, and further more, Farmville had very little.  But it was good for us since we didn't have any money to spend at a Barnes and Noble anyway.  Instead, we walked.  We walked everywhere.  All over campus, Main Street, to parks.

After picking up Eliot a Longwood tee-shirt, we found the High Bridge Trail, but, uh, of course the bridge itself was being repaired, so we couldn't even see it.  We'll just have to go back.  During our walk and the whole drive home, we felt grateful for our days in undergrad.  They were stressful at times as I took 21 credits a semester, but I really believe we were supposed to go there.  It's funny to step back and recognize God's hand in everything through it all.  How could we ever doubt Him?