A Mom & More: A walk down memory lane

I recently returned to Iowa for a few days to celebrate my nephew’s high school graduation.

It’s crazy to think that the baby that was born just after I began my journalism career is now a high school graduate, but it’s true. It’s crazy how quickly 18 years in the field have gone by.

It was an excellent trip where I got to see my dad and his wife, all of my siblings, my sisters-in-law, most of my nieces and nephews and two special aunts. I was also able, although he wasn’t able to make it to the festivities, to steal a couple of hours with my stepson, who elected to stay in Iowa when we moved.

However, I also took about an hour for myself to take a walk down memory lane. It just so happens that the parents of the graduate — one of my brothers and his wife — live in Iowa City, where I lived for four years while I attended the University of Iowa. The hotel my other brother reserved a room for our aunt — who offered to share her room with me — was located right in downtown Iowa City and at the edge of campus.

As I woke up the morning of Memorial Day, I had some time before the reception and elected to take a walk around campus, quite possibly the first time I had done so in at least 15 years.

The Old Capitol was majestic in the morning light, and it took me a few moments to realize why it looked more beautiful than I remembered: It was under renovation, and therefore behind a plywood wall, my entire tenure at the university. I walked through the Pentacrest, made up of the Old Capitol and four of the original buildings of the university, that mark the “center” of campus. I walked by the buildings I had the majority of my classes in, including the Adler Journalism Building, which opened my senior year, making me part of its inaugural graduating class. I passed by the main university library, where I worked for three years, and also a building that had been featured in an episode of Friends, though, somehow, I missed that tidbit when the episode aired in the show’s final season — my junior year.

I also stopped by the place where my husband and I met nearly 20 years ago. It still looks exactly the same, at least from the outside. I didn’t, however, have time to cross the Iowa River to visit Kinnick Stadium, where the football team plays and many fall Saturdays were spent. Maybe next time.

But, I also happened across various iterations of Hawkeye mascot Herky as new “Herkys on Parade” were recently installed. One of the Herkys I came across was “Herky de los Muertos,” which to me symbolized the two states I have lived in.

What struck me most on my walkabout was how so little of the campus had changed and the beauty it holds that I never had time to enjoy before as I was always scrambling from class to class. It’s amazing the beauty of Iowa, with its lush greenness, and the beauty of New Mexico, with its mountain views, are so different but both so mesmerizing.

But it also made me think of how far I have come since my time there — marriage, children, many Press Association awards in both states and the decision, with my husband, to take a chance and make a bold move to a community 1,500 miles away from everything we knew. The change has been good for us.

So, instead of telling you not to look back, I’ll say this. Take that look back, but to reflect on how far you’ve come and to ponder where you want to go next.