ole ohio....

My alma mater is playing in the sweet sixteen this evening and before you say big whoop dee do dah, let me tell you this is pretty heady stuff for the "Harvard on the Hocking." Interestingly enough voted by Princeton the number one party school in the United States. Still not quite sure how it's the number one, but I guess we'll take Princeton's word. Playboy states we are number five and I'd say Playboy would know the number one party school is they saw it. But I digress. What I'm trying to say is Ohio University is not usually nationally recognized for our athletic prowess. But Ohio University, as the cliche goes, made me who I am today.

courtesy of Ohio University

In the Fall of 1989 I sobbed for the entire drive from Akron to Athens, which is ironic because after my campus tour there was no doubt in my mind this is where I wanted to be.  Subconsciously, I must have already known how this little scenic town would change my life forever. I was one of a few from my high school attending Ohio University, because most became Buckeyes. But I wanted something different. I've always been the one who wanted something that no one else had. 


If I were to start a list of ways in which Ohio University changed my life I know there's the usual college memories; embracing the arts, learning to live without parents, fighting the Freshman Fifteen, realizing professors don't care if you show up and how to live off no money during the week and yet still manage to have enough for the weekend uptown. Which sometimes just meant a couple winks at the right gentleman. (Clearly, my college years pre date, the date rape drug.) 


And how can I forget the Treudley fourth floor posse? What was more fun than harassing those returning home after a indulgent night uptown? Not much. Unless it was playing euchre for hours upon hours. Well, unless it was sunbathing on Boyd Beach.

Treudley 

But if you'd ask my what was the most important event that happened to me was. It would have to be meeting my husband. Can you imagine my mother's audible gasp when I announced that I was dating my golfing instructor?  Lucky for her, the boys on the golf team taught the golf class. Ironically, I did take the class to meet boys, I just never fathomed  it would be the instructor.


Years later while researching our family genealogy I discovered that my grandmother had also met my grandfather here. My Grandpa Patterson was in a mounted cavalry unit that practiced on the campus on weekends. She eventually dropped out to marry him. 


The family tradition continued. Three of my younger cousins, Suzi, Katie and Jessica, also graduated from Ohio University and Jessica met her husband, Devon, at Ohio University as well. 


There are so many Athens tales to tell I could write a book, but what I really want to say is...


Stand up and cheer

Cheer loud and long for old Ohio
For today we raise
The Green and White above the rest

 Our team is fighting,
 And we are bound to win the fray
 We’ve got the team,
 We’ve got the steam,
 For this is old Ohio’s day!

     Go Bobcats!

.....make new friends, but keep the old....

This weekend while hubs and I were snuggling up on the couch, he turned on the fireplace because, "there's a chill in the air." I look over at my 80 year old husband "with a chill" and realize he's wearing a polo and shorts. Whereas, I'm sporting a tank top and capris. No wonder we're chilly, it's October and we're dressed for July. But you'll have to excuse us, less than a year ago we moved from Ohio to Virginia. So at the moment we are a tad climately challenged. Now geographically the southern most point of Ohio is more south than where we currently live, but everybody north thinks we went south. And I suppose to their credit we did cross the Mason-Dixon line.

Relocating to a new state where you know NO ONE is an adventure, but not like you'd see on a half hour sitcom or even a two hour movie. This adventure is not for the faint at heart. It makes you late to the new doctor's office because you got lost getting there, forgetting to pay the gas bill because you thought you set it up online but apparently didn't (which does not go over well with the CPA hubby), spending over an hour at the grocery store for 15 items or less because you can't find anything, finding out skinks (lizards) are normal around here after almost stepping on one ... Are you getting the picture yet?

Amid these moving debacles, we have had the unwelcome experience of an earthquake and Hurricane Irene. I debate telling you the story of how I thought there was something wrong with my car and didn't realize we were having an earthquake. But really, I moved to the east coast not the west. And honestly we don't really get that many hurricanes- the locals assure me.

Finally after seven choatic months we finally have friends, meet all our neighbors, have favorite restaurants, know which baristas make a better latte, a good beautician, no longer look over my shoulder when making a u turn (illegal in Ohio) and haven't gotten lost in quite a while or even turned the GPS on.

So while all this has been at times frightening, I wouldn't change it for the world. My children  have gained a sense of pride that is very well deserved. I see it in their eyes and in my mirror, too.