Olivet Homecoming!

Yes as shocking at it may sound, I made it back to Olivet for homecoming this year, and it was a blast. Pictures unfortunately are not as my camera battery decided to die 2 seconds into my adventure or so it seemed (and I had just charged it, grrr). But the one or two pictures I do have I will post at some point. Right now I am at work and do not have them avaialble to post.

Anyway, so I started my 12+ hour long journey in my olivet t-shirt and athletic pants with a stack of CD's some recent, some old school, and my GPS. I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be, just a little bummed that the drive was so long. Through Virginia and West Viriginia I had beautiful scenery to look at as I made my through the mountains and down miles and miles of what seemed like an endless highway. Before I knew it I was in Indiana and getting more excited as each exit passed because I knew that soon I would be reunited with my best friend and my amazing Olivet friends enjoying the festivities that make up homecoming. However, the weather had other ideas. About 10 miles from my exit the wind decided to topple over the backside of a tractor trailor resulting in one lane traffic. Thus my drive took over 13 hours, but it was still worth it.

After my traffic ordeal, which included strong winds, stand still traffic to where people got out of their cars and an annoying amount of horn honking, I found myself entering "home" passing the football field, Weber Center, Ludwig...and this new building which seeemed foreign to me but of course I knew it was the new CHAPEL! I was awed at its beauty and size (it's huge, trust me).

Coronation was the night I came into town so it was the perfect place to surprise Molly, if she was going to be there. I sat through Coronation amazed at how the ceremony never gets old but wishing it would go quicker because I needed to see my best friend. Finally it ended and Hannah (Molly's sister) said that Molly was around and that she would hide me until the right time (hiding behind Hannah is easy, she's about 6 foot and I'm 5 so you couldn't see me at all). Well the time finally came. I could see Molly even though I was behind Hannah and Hannah kept looking at Molly and then pointing her fingers behind her to tell Molly to look behind her. Molly wasn't getting it and so finally Hannah just moved over and SURPRISE. I think Molly about fainted because she just couldn't grasp that I was actually standing there in human form. The words "what are you doing here?" came out in broken pieces after many gasps a little screaming and a ton of smiling and my favorite part the HUG! A little chaos ensued after as Molly and I were talking and trying to get things figured out for when we would spend time together. But, in the end I stayed at her place, I gotta love Molly for that she says that her door is always open for me regardless of the messiness and craziness in her life. I can always spend the night with her and Joe, and Joe is actually ok with it.

Going to Molly's new apartment (now that she doesn't work at Olivet) I got to meet their newest addition Chief a wonderful but rambunctious little puppy who likes to bite, playfully, but it still isn't the best feeling in the world. And Joe and Molly and I stayed up way too late chatting, because it just didn't seem real that this was all happening. Me being at Olivet and all. Finally we went to bed, or tried to. But, the weather decided to do its own thing again and snap the power line across thes street creating an electrical fire and a little panic. Needless to say not much sleep was had by any of us that night, the dog included.

Over the next two days I spent most of my time on Olivet's campus visiting old work places, seeing professors, meeting old friends, grabbing coffee at common grounds, playing games with Hillary, Ian, Nick, Brandon, Brenna, Brittany, and Evan, talking over bowls of chili. It was a fabulous time and a great closure and reminder of the strong and fun friendships I have formed at Olivet and kept after graduation. I even went to the Intro to Social Work class to talk to students about grad school and surviving the program at Olivet, it was interesting to be on the other side.

I also went to the dedication chapel service in the new building...not sure about my thoughts on it. But the music was great as usual. A huge building maybe a little too over the top though...I can't decide.

Saturday was my favorite day though hands down. I spent the morning cleaning up Chief's poop and pee because I new my best friend needed the help (he's not quite potty trained) and we had great conversation oddly enough. Then I went to McDonalds and Walmart with Whitney Allison since I had to grab cookie dough and frosting for the best friend adventures that were going to ensue later in the day. Whitney has become such a great friend and I don't think something as simple as walmart has been that fun in a long time.

After parting with Whitney I went back to the apartment to continue my day. Molly and I washed and put away the dishes singing and dancing a long to Mariah Carey's Christmas cd from the 90s..she had asked if we could do Christmas early this year, I said yes of course as Christmas is a tradition of ours (we normally spend part of the holiday together). We then proceeded to bake sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies and watch Elf, which Molly fell aslepp during but hey she teaches all week so I don't blame her for being tired. Then we frosted cookies, another tradition of ours and we actually did a decent job this time around. Hannah came over soon after with a friend of hers and we watched Enchanted or actually Enchanted was playing in the background but Molly fell asleep again and Hannah and I got to have a conversation that we hadn't ever really had because she always used to be too busy or too young. It was a great way to end my day and the weekend overall.

Sunday I went home...got there at a decent hour and now here I am four days later, once again swimming in a sea of studying and papers but much more joyful and fulfilled than before so I think the trip was a great idea.

You probably didn't want to read all this and decided to skip a lot of it and that's ok but it was just such a great experience that I had to share.

Oh God you blessed my life and I am so thankful!