Ding dong

Well, this morning our house (primarily the ladies) got a lovely surprise.

Chrissy and I were getting ready to leave at about 9:45. We were going to buy ink for our printer, and she wanted to exchange a notebook she bought. Then the door bell rang. We assumed it was David, because he had just left to go back to his house.

I open the door and standing there very cute, and somewhat tentatively, were a lovely young couple.

"Um. Hi! Hello. Are...are you with the Warner's?"

In a matter of one second, a whole list of crazy situations ran through my head. Why on Earth would the Warner's send a couple to our door? Are they selling us something? Are they here to fix something? Is this a survey? Did we do something wrong?

"Well, hi. We're on our honeymoon, and I did the OOSC program about three years ago. I was in this house!"

She then proceeded to tell me how she was a 2007 Oxbridge Music graduate from Jewell named Eryn Bates, and how she lived in the room upstairs (what is now Karen's room). As part of her honeymoon with her hubby, they came to Oxford so she could show him around. Well, of course I welcomed them right inside. Who could deny such fresh faces and such excitement?

We (Chrissy, Karen, the couple and I) toured the house and found out the guitar that was in our common room was bought by her. We also discovered that her instructions for receiving voice messages were still on a piece of paper on our bulletin board.

She told us a few stories of her time in the house and in Oxford (some of which ring oddly familiar in our year, especially the ones about an “interesting” housemate). She told us how amazing it was when she was here, and asked if certain things still exist. Karen, Eryn, and I discussed Jewell Music faculty. Apparently Eryn also studied with Kathy (small world, eh?). She was very excited to be back and to show her husband around. He was a great sport about the whole thing, and kept reminding her to take pictures of the place, because she was getting too distracted to remember.

All in all, they were here about 45 minutes. And in those 45 minutes, my day was refreshed. I had woken up in a funk, realizing how much I had to do and how much I did not want to do it. But Eryn refreshed me. When I see couples happy like that, it reminds me of where I want to be someday, and of the things I want to do. Part of me is very excited for my marital future (though not excited enough to get married, like, tomorrow), and of traveling with my significant other. I have dreams of bringing Josh back to Oxford some day on a similar trip, and I am glad to know I am not the only one who desires that. This year will be something I wish everyone I love could enjoy with me. I wish everyone I care about the most was here seeing the same things, smelling the same things, hearing the same things, but perhaps not tasting the same things. Haha.

As a result, the rest of my day will be lost in random moments of reflection (around my homework). My day began with one of those moments that makes you realize a) just how small the world is, and just how much of an impact we can make, b) recognize all those that came before you, and the traces they leave and c) what your real dreams are for your life, and that they aren't as insane as some would like you to believe.