Back to the future

Jeremy's been a freshman for a week now.  We're looking forward to his arrival for Sunday brunch in just about 90 minutes.  Last weekend his parents, brother and I  moved him into his dorm room at George Washington University.  Made me remember when my folks took me Lawrence in Appleton WI, a small town outpost and home city of the infamous Joe McCarthy. Jeremy didn't want that kind of isolation.  He wanted a city school with lots of kids from all over the world.  Smart kid!

The furniture was as I  remembered my first dorm room, only older and greatly more used - basic ash wood single bed, desk and chest, no drawer pulls. I shared a room with one other young woman.  He's sharing with four other guys.  It should be interesting to see if any of them sleep well. It's a diverse group - one Asian with high style clothes, one Pakistani with the manners of a well trained prince, one apparently normal guy from Cleveland, and one skinny dude from Syracuse NY who brought the TV (yes, they have cable TV as well as Wi-Fi in the dorm.  Rounding out the gang is Jeremy, the quiet one from New Jersey.  They are all starting out as business majors, so I'm not sure just if they're really diverse.

The dorm building is old, but that's what he wanted.  He's on the 8th floor (we climbed the stairs three times because the lines for the tiny elevators was so long).  The parquet floors must have ten coats of varnish on them.  The walls are institutional beige, some smooth and some the remnants of original plaster walls.  There's a white fridge, insufficient ceiling lights, one bathroom with a door that doesn't shut real well, one huge and one small closet, but no cooking facilities. If you lay on Jeremy's bed and look out the niche window to the left there's a long view of the Potomac river south toward the airport. Makes you feel you are in the heart of something special!

He's happy.  It's a big step.  We're feeling old.   It was 1966 when I was a freshman, still a virgin and hankering to let loose. I shake my head in amazement that I survived it all.  I hope Jeremy not only survives, but thrives.  He's a good kid who is not afraid to make tough decisions.