Don't Let Fun Get Left Behind

i sometimes long for the good ol' days of college when the hardest decision you had to make was which party you went to and usually you'd try to hit all of them anyway! now that i'm 'grown up' and have more responsibilities, i find myself daydreaming of that time when i was always surrounded by my best friends (including my husband)and was completely supported financially by my parents. it seemed like such a carefree time of my life when the worst that happened in my 4 years was calling in sick to work and running into my boss about an hour later-while i was riding bikes with my roommate! real sick, huh? but nothing ever happened. i didn't get fired, or laid off, she didn't even mention it to me the next day! and i know she saw me 'cause she waved at me from across the street and said 'hey claussen!' like she was glad to see i was feeling better! i was invinsible, or so it seemed...

with the responsibilities that come with being 'grown up' it's easy to wish those days back and sometimes i really do crave to be back at college with my friends without a care in the world. and i think that's normal. especially when you have one of those really bad days when you think it would've been better to stay in bed! but i also think that reminiscing of carefree fun times can be helpful in a way. those thoughts can help motivate you into doing something rather than just remembering what you did.

my husband was THIS close to attending another college and at the last minute decided on PC, where we met! i owe alot to PC-not only for my husband, but for the lifelong friendships i made while i was there, and luckily, he was and always is my friend first, which is important to our relationship. i think about how much my life has changed since college and i wouldn't trade it for anything-not even those days full of frisbee in the park or mixers! thankfully, my babe (how he is known in our house & will be in my posts) is mentally still in college (without having to daydream)and he keeps me feeling young! we still enjoy alot of things we used to live for in college...we still go to music shows every chance we get, we still go hiking, we still have a date night once a week (a tradition we started while in college), and we laugh together more now than we ever did!

don't let me confuse you, we aren't old by any means of the word, but with life comes accountability & while we have a great marriage, sometimes those responsibilities can take their toll on you mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc. as for me and babe we'd rather make a living by being young, but even we know that's not possible. but that doesn't stop us from staying young-in the fullest extent allowable! when we reflect on our time spent in college & how we didn't have to worry about getting off work to go to shows or making it to work the day after, it invigorates us to plan a day trip or weekend getaway to relive our younger years & things we enjoy! although we can't always be spontaneous like we were & have to plan for these blissful events, we still do it-if only to remind us that we still have it in us to be fun & lighthearted! we know that we can't be youthful at all times-it's just not responsible-but it doesn't stop us from taking advantage of the opportunity when it arises!

my college years are dear to me because of the lifelong friendships i made and the experiences we all shared. and i am fortunate enough that babe always was & is my best friend! and although my friends are scattered in various states instead of living under my same roof, we still keep in touch and when we get together it's as if we never left one another. these special times when we are together is another way to stay young--even though some of us have children by now! college helped make us all who we are today. we all shared the experience of growing up together, even when that meant learning how to get in trouble at times! i will always miss being with my friends but it's comforting to know that i live with my best friend. while i sometimes get 'homesick' for the young years of college, it pleases me to know that i haven't completely left them behind.