College Visit

The Helmerich Great Reading room in the Library at OU. This picture is from the OU website.

Another great pic from the OU web page.

Each time we visit a college (this visit was to the University of Oklahoma) Dean and I come away with mixed feelings. We were excited and hopeful about the opportunities that awaited Bailey. We are equally excited and hopeful about the opportunities that await Parker. In both cases we know The Leaving of each of our kids marks an irreversible change in our family. Inevitably the visits stir in us that old excitement of starting over. On the long drive home we both felt a little sad because the last one is leaving the nest. We also feel a little dissatisfied. 

College visits are filled with optimistic wonder and challenge. I have been a stay-at-home mom all these years and Dean has worked in the same field (for two different companies) for what seems like an eternity. We try to remind ourselves that "hope and change" are not always what they are cracked up to be - especially at our age. While all those dreams and opportunities really are very wonderful and exciting, I'm not sure I would have the energy to pursue them even if time and location offered me the chance.

It is far better to keep the focus on the dreams and possibilities of those with enough energy to live well and work well on 5 hours of sleep.

Just after sunrise!

 We were up at 5:30 for the drive to Oklahoma.

 Parker is not really awake yet!

Dean and Parker with one of the many phone boxes on campus.

The director of Undergraduate Professional Development gave us an incredible tour of the business college. We were able to talk to several professors and quite a few students all with different areas of interest. Parker was able to ask questions (he asked really good questions) and hear about the different areas of study from both the professor's and the student's perspective. In the afternoon we took a student led tour of the school of Journalism. The young woman who led our tour was enthusiastic and informative. It was a busy day, the weather was beautiful with the exception of a strong wind! I did not take as many pictures as intended for this reason. Below are pictures from our first visit to OU during Spring Break last year.

This is a dinosaur at a gas station near campus!

Everyone at OU, on each of our visits, has been very friendly and informative. As we walked around and spoke to professors and students it was easy to picture Parker there. It was also easy to picture a younger version of myself and Dean there!! As I said before, I must focus on the enthusiasm and energy of youth and perhaps I should sign up for a course online ...or maybe Dean and I could take dance lessons...or maybe we could just sit on the porch and sip ice tea...after my nap!