Alumni Invasion, Part II

This past weekend was William and Mary’s homecoming. The way I felt last year around this time mirrors how I still feel about the weekend so I will repeat it here. A first lady once said, “I have been very happy with my homes, but homes really are no more than the people who live in them.”

I have fallen in love with this place – the three-century-old brick buildings, the Sunken Gardens, romantic Crim Dell bridge, and the quaint historic community, but I have fallen more in love with the people.

And if graduation marks a farewell, homecoming cites our reunion. As the green and gold leaves transformed into colors of crimson and orange last weekend, new green and gold in the form of hundreds of alumni invaded Williamsburg for the Homecoming celebrations.

It is one of my favorite weekends of the year – an opportunity to put everything on hold for 72 hours to enjoy the company of old friends. I had three of my best guy friends crash in my room, watched the floats progress down Richmond Road in the early morning parade, cheered along the sororities and fraternities at the Harrison tailgate, screamed for Grimes as he scored an incredible touchdown for a win against JMU, danced to the jam band music of Robert Randolph and the Family Band, hung at the delis and averaged about four hours of sleep a night.

We omitted talking about work, jobs, or anything real-world related. Because for that one weekend it was as if nothing had changed and I could revel in the presence of my best friends.