College Days are here again.

I live in a college town.

Wait. Let me clarify. I live just outside a town that houses two universities...and is 15 minutes away from a private college. Oh, and 15 minutes (in the other direction) away from a community college.

So yeah, as I was saying....

I live in a college town. And this is the time of year where the mass influx of students completely changes the look, feel, and spirit of our town.

Picture taken the summer before MY Senior year in college. I'm second from the left.

For when The Students...from one of the FOUR local colleges... return to town:

• You can no longer drive, with ease, down the road. You now have to ride the break, contending with college students who have a death wish think they possess the right away. All day. Every day. On a four lane busy road, I might add.

• You can no longer walk into a restaurant on a Friday night and be seated within 20 minutes. Now you hear "It's looking like an hour and a half at this point" from the hostess. Promptly being faced with the decision to wait it out or go to another restaurant...to wait it out.
  
  So yeah, dinners out come ready-made with PRE-eating indigestion, as you try to convince yourself that standing *that* close to a total stranger in the restaurant lobby for an hour isn't all that bad.
  
  

No, this picture wasn't staged. Wha'? We were always picking each other up. for absolutely no reason at all. Didn't you? I suppose that was the reason we were part of FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes)... we had exceptional upper body strength. ;)

• You can no longer walk down the street with your full confidence in tack. Because you are now greeted with thin, tan, half-clothed girls that have been obviously working on their physique the en.ti.re. summer. in preparation for the inevitable meeting of The One. ;)
  

• And for the Love of God and all things holy, don't even think about stepping foot inside Super Wal*mart because you will not get out alive within the designated 1 hour time frame.

But

I have to confess. I love it...I love almost everything about having them back in town. I mean, the whole death-wish, half-clothed part doesn't sit well with me. But eh. I'm particular like that.

There's just something about this age group that stirs my very soul.

Something about that short time frame in life that silently calls out to the woman God created me to be...and every fiber in my being WANTS to do a one-on-one with every. girl. there.

And trust me, that's a lot of girls. (Maybe this is why God has given me a posse of daughters?...since I no longer have extra time for college ministry)

I'm drawn to their energy. their potential. their zest for life. their desire to figure it out. and their rather naive take on male/female relationships that begs for a little outside perspective.

And I have this insatiable urge to invest in them. Listen to them. Encourage them. Slap them upside the head and yell "Clothe thyself!"


College reunion last summer. I'm 6months pregnant with Alana. Always pregnant...:) And notice this time, I'm still holding up some part of somebody's body. ;)

It's such a precious season in life. Such a sweet memory for me. SUCH the pocket of opportunity for them. And I'm drawn to it. to them.

And I happen to be thu-rilled that they're ALLLL back in town.

Now to get them to ditch the death-wish and buy clothes that actually cover thy boot-ay.