Monday, June 06, 2005

Going back to my roots

Mr. Jane and I just got back from a quick weekend trip to Grad School City for a wedding. The wedding was actually a few towns over, but we figured that since we were so close, we should make the effort to go back to Grad School City. And so we did.

Surprisingly, the city has not changed all that much. The main streets still have most of the same stores, the same restaurants, the same coffee shops. It's good to see that among the chain stores and the Starbucks, the independent stores are still thriving. There are many more condos in the area, but graduate housing is still the dive it always was.

We hit one of our old favorite restaurants, which was just as fabulous as we remembered it. After dinner, we stopped for tea at one of the old familiar coffee shops, and took a walk in one of our favorite neighborhoods. I remembered jogging around this same neighborhood many, many times, and imagining myself living there someday. The memories and old stories started coming back, and Mr. Jane and I played an extended version of "remember when?" It was amazing how much we had forgotten, but how quickly and easily it all came back.

Grad school was such an intense time in my life; I often wonder how all of the things that happened, happened in such a short span of time (5-ish years). Maybe that's why my memories of Grad School City are so vivid, and why going back to visit is in some ways like going back home.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That's cool that you can visit that place with someone who shares that space/time/memories with you. Also cool that your favorite restaurant is still there and is still as fabulous. I'll have to get the name from you offline since I'll be travelling to that city for a conference later this year.

A few friends from high school occasionally are in touch with me and they have such vivid memories of things I often don't remember even after they've recounted a specific adventure. Apparently I lived a completely different childhood than I remember.