sitting on my swing

I attended an event on campus last night (more on that later) at Taylor Down Under, a student lounge at JMU where I used to get coffee, play endless games of Clue and *try* to study. When you walk out of TDU you are looking out over Hillside Field, which is where the band and the archery team practice. On the left are three dorms - one of which I lived in freshman year. Right in front of you, overlooking the field, are several metal swings, like porch swings, only they aren't on a porch.

I used to sit on those swings and listen to The Shins on repeat, rocking back on forth, staring at the stars, wondering how long Andy and I would last. 

I hadn't sat on one of those swings in years. It was dark outside when I left the event, and not many people were outside. I plunked down on "my" old swing, not caring that my jeans immediately got soaked from the rain.

I looked over the field, and I remembered.

The nights Andy and I ran around the field with our arms out like airplanes, singing "Come Fly With Me." Gosh we were so cute.

The time I convinced someone (Kristen, was it you?) to climb up to the platform used for the band director to stand on. We stood towering over the field and screamed our hearts out, and I imagined I was in the scream scene from "Garden State."

The night it was sheeting down rain and Becca and I ran outside and thew ourselves into the mud, dancing and wrestling and smearing it on each other's faces and hair.

Hearing the band practice. I miss that.

Playing frisbee.

Watching the ducks.

Skateboarding.

I sat there, and I remembered.
And then I thought about where I am now. Six years later.

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."