Weekly Wrap-Up

Fall break: the loveliest time of the year. After a week off from co-op classes and nearly all activities, I feel refreshed. I would like to say that I feel ready to get back into the swing of things, but the reality is that I'd love to stay on permanent fall break.

Our big adventure this week was to visit my alma mater, Milligan College, on an official college visit. Laurel is only a junior; but Tristan is a senior, and this was his first college visit. It was an absolutely fabulous day for it: the weather was stunningly perfect. The campus is two hours away, and it was a lovely day for a drive.

The kids had a fantastic tour guide. I have discovered that, when requesting a private tour, it is helpful to give a few details about your kids to the campus visits director. Our last student tour guide had no valuable insights to offer my daughter because his interests were completely different. This time I gave the director a few details about the kids (academic, not sports-oriented, creative) and she picked a perfect student guide. Just a little tidbit for those of you preparing for college visits!

It is always lovely to be back on my campus. My college experience, while filled with expected ups and downs, was truly amazing. The campus has changed a lot over the years, but the heart is still the same.

Well, except for this aberration.

 It's hard to know how to feel about this new dorm. The original Pardee Hall, a sacred place, was torn down a decade or so after we graduated. Being part of Pardee was practically a religion unto itself. It was a men's dorm, but of course I married a Pardee Rowdy. And now the campus has added a beautiful new village with 5 dorms, and one was named Pardee. It's a lot to live up to.

And here's another change:

The buffalo, Milligan's mascot, is now cemented into the ground. Used to be a moveable buffalo that those Pardee Rowdies would find in a storage shed somewhere and hoist into all kinds of surprising places: on the stage in chapel, in the cafeteria, on the president's rooftop, strung from a wire. That old one is probably still around somewhere though...

The kids went to convocation, ate lunch in the cafeteria, and took a tour. Tristan sat in on a history class while his mom, Laurel, and I relaxed by the creek. The bridge and gazebo used to be popular spots for all kinds of tomfoolery. Milligan grads of my era probably remember the bridge painted pink with yellow ducks. Or vice versa.

After the financial aid and admissions procedure talk, we met my friend and fellow alum (now adjunct professor), Robert, and hiked up Buffalo Mountain.

That was good for our souls. With our big backyard, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, closed for the shut-down, we needed a beautiful view and a place to stretch our legs.



And that was the high point of this week! Laurel has been to Milligan a few times before, and it is definitely one of her top places to apply. But she still has a year to figure things out for sure.

We took a few days of fall break this week but are getting some school done yesterday and today. Co-op classes start back up on Monday, and I have  hours to spend doing lesson plans for my classes—as always.

Hope you get a bit of a break and a beautiful view wherever you are!

Linked up at the Weekly Wrap-up