The perfect combination

In the process of cleaning out our bedroom closet I found my diaries ranging from 6th grade through about sophomore year of college. I was never a terribly faithful writer so at times I wrote in it every day and other times there would be weeks and months between entries. 99% of the time it was one boy or another that drove me to write in my diary. If you were to just read through the diaries - and not notice the big gaps in the timeline - you'd think I was a complete flake. Talk about fickle! One entry would be all about my "undying love" for one boy and then the next one would be about how much I hate that boy but love someone else. It was hilarious reading through the diaries last night.

It also amazed me, as I skimmed back over them today, that all the things I loved and hated about the boys that I dated are pretty much what make Lincoln who he is today. He has all the things that I liked from my various crushes and boyfriends and none of the things that I hated. Lincoln is truly the perfect combination and an absolute perfect fit for me. It's amazing how all those trials and tribulations - which at the time seemed like the world was ending - were really just getting me ready for meeting Lincoln.

As the Rascal Flatts song states: "God bless the broken road that led me straight to you."

Change

Today I received the latest issue of the Gustavus Quarterly which is the alumni magazine from my alma mater. There is an article at the beginning of the magazine about the renovations to the Anderson Social Science Center. It doesn't sound like they're tearing the whole thing down and replacing it but they are making serious renovations to it.

In my four years as a History major (with minors in Women's Studies and Sociology) I spent a LOT of time in the Social Sciences building. I loved that building. It was incredibly quirky and if you weren't familiar with the building you could get quite lost in there. If I'm not mistaken it had once been a library and therefore certain staircases only went to certain areas of the building (i.e. the "stacks" or storage areas of the former library). You might think it would be easy to take any staircase and go to any floor but it didn't work that way.

I'm sad to see that they are making changes to the building and that some of the quirkiness might be disappearing. On the other hand it was one of the older buildings on campus and definitely in need of an update.

A lot of the school has changed since I graduated there 10 years ago. In March 1998, when I was a junior, a terrible tornado went through the town of St. Peter and wreaked incredible damage to the school. The damage from the tornado resulted in the school building a fancy new student union, cafeteria and even some new dorms. It's weird to see so much of the school change but I certainly don't expect life to stand still either.

Life moves on but I enjoy taking out my memories of college and brushing them off now and then. I'm not living in the past, but gosh darn it, I don't want things to change either. I have great memories of that place and I'm proud the school continues to develop and grow and change, but....

Can't I have it both ways?

6 weeks

Over the weekend I heard the news that a guy I knew from college, Andrew Lindberg, was missing. He had been piloting a small private plane and hadn't been heard from since Friday night when he didn't arrive at his destination.

Andrew was a friend of a friend. He was good friends with some of my good friends and I certainly knew him and spent time with him but I wouldn't say that he and I were good friends. He was a friendly acquaintance and someone I enjoyed spending time with when we were at the same party or I saw him around campus. It even took me a few minutes to remember who he was but once I put the pieces together the memories started flooding back.

This morning the wreckage of his plane - and his body - were found in a rural part of Minnesota only accessible by an old snowmobile trail. No additional details have been posted but I can only hope and pray that he died on impact and didn't suffer in the four and a half days it took to find his body.

It is always disturbing when someone you know dies. I haven't seen Andrew since I graduated from Gustavus ten years ago but that doesn't mean I don't mourn his death. He was a great guy. He was funny, friendly, and outgoing. He was just a nice guy. I wish I could have known him better.

But this is what has really shaken me up about his death. Andrew got married six weeks ago.....almost to the day. He disappeared on a Friday night and the next day would have been the six week anniversary of his wedding. As far as I know I've never met his wife. I don't think she went to Gustavus and as far as I know, even if she did, I don't think I've ever met her. But she's a widow now. A widow. After six weeks. I can't even wrap my mind around that. The nine years that Lincoln and I have been married have gone by so fast I can't imagine how she feels knowing that she only got six weeks with her husband. I'm sure they probably haven't even finished sending out the thank you notes for the wedding gifts yet and now she'll be sending "thanks for the funeral flowers." That's just wrong.

So Kate, my thoughts are with you. We've never met but I hope you know that your husband touched the lives of many and even though he was only a very small part of my life he was part of it and I thank God I had the pleasure of knowing him.

Rest in Peace Andrew

It is amazing what she can and cannot spell

Tonight Hannah had to interview me for her heritage/immigration project.  I'll spare you the entire details but I thought this exchange was pretty funny.  (A little background: when she was very young I started brainwashing her with the fact that I went to Gustavus and that I would love it if she went there someday.) I have since changed my mind about her going there but don't ever let anyone tell you that brainwashing doesn't work.

Hannah: Where were you born?

Me: Decorah, Iowa

Hannah: How do you spell Decorah?

Me: D-E-C-O-R-A-H

Hannah: How do you spell Iowa?

Me: I-O-W-A

Hannah: Where did you go to school?

Me: Gustavus.

(silence)

Me: Do you need me to spell Gustavus?

Hannah: No.

Me: Are you telling me you can spell Gustavus but you can't spell Iowa?

Hannah: Yeah.

10 years goes by way too fast

Ten years ago Lincoln and I met and started dating. Those 10 years have gone by so fast. It occurred to me today that 10 years from this month Hannah will be graduating from high school. Life is going by way too fast.

And while we're talking about aging, Gustavus sent me a bookmark in the mail suggesting I remember Gustavus in my will.