One of the things fathers take pride in when their kids go away to school is packing the car. They might act like it’s a pain in the ass, but they truly enjoy the entire process. It’s an art form. Watching my dad master the trunk of our ’98 maxima is like watching a nerd dominate Tetris. Somehow that heap of debris that collects on my living room table, floor, and chairs each August transforms into a neat rectangle in the back of the car.
Give Stan your DVD’s, TV’s, crates, mini fridges, toaster ovens, bicycles, posters, footballs, vacuums, hats, computers, fans, food processors, pool tables, futons, even a washer and dryer, and I guarantee he can fit it in an orderly fashion. I’d be willing to bet he could neatly squeeze everything into the basket of a little girl's tricycle.
As much as I loved watching my dad struggle try to figure out how hook the bike rack on the trunk and back bumper, it’s bittersweet to have the end of August approaching and nothing to look forward to. This September I’m not reuniting with my closest friends, I have no million pointless “so how was your summer?” questions to answer, no syllabus week to sleepwalk through, no summer reading to stress over*, and no brand new townhouse to destroy.
The anxiety I had for almost 20 years about going back to school is replaced by an anxiety of having nothing to anxious about.
My family is now in route to Virginia Tech to help my younger brother move in for his freshman year. I can imagine what’s running through his head right now, “Jesus, will mom ever stop talking about laundry” “God, I hope my brother doesn’t try and visit” “Damn, dad can really pack a car nicely” “I swear if I hear mom sing Jason Mraz and Coldplay one more time I’ll drown myself in a restroom toilet.”
The things I would do to be in his flip-flops right now I can't begin to imagine. I crave that excited uncertainty of what life in a 15x10 room is like. Instead of the uncertainty of how I’m going to pay back that conniving bitch Sallie Mae the hundred grand she lent me.
Everyone constantly reminds college students how fast it goes by, and none of them ever listen, I sure as hell didn’t. If someone ever told me I’d end up missing exam week when I was freshman I’d believe it when the Buffalo Bills stopped sucking. Sadly the Bills are as good at winning as Brett Favre is at retiring.
If your going back to school in these next couple weeks, or going to college for the first time, do everything you can to have the best four years possible, and if feasible five or six.
For now I’m going to get back to watching a spray tanned Al Borland, of Home Improvement and Family Feud fame, try to sell me a Kodak printer, apparently I can save $100 on ink each year.
*I just found Galileo’s Daughter sitting in my bookcase, definitely not going to miss summer reading.
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