Four years later

I started thinking about this post last Sunday while flying back from New Hampshire. That day was momentous for several reasons; perhaps most insignificantly, it marked four years since I graduated from Dartmouth (and thus the fourth birthday of this blog). More exciting was getting to watch Ellen receive her doctoral diploma at Dartmouth's Commencement earlier in the day. Even though she completed her degree last summer, Dartmouth only holds one ceremony a year and so Ellen had to wait until this June to receive her cap, hood, and diploma itself. It was quite a thrill to watch! Ellen got to spend the following week in New Hampshire, too, culminating in her five-year reunion this weekend. Unfortunately, I had to return on account of work after only two days (for some reason they don't let paramedics telecommute).

Every year it seems like I know fewer and fewer people going through the (somewhat pompously named) "Commencement Exercises." This year, though, while I knew only a handful of undergrads receiving their diplomas, I did have a couple grad student friends who were completing their studies. It was exciting to cheer for them a second time for a second degree. Some are off to use their degrees right away; others have more schooling looming through the windshield. In both cases I am delighted and proud to see what they have accomplished so far.

It was wonderful being back in New Hampshire, however briefly. We had the chance to catch up with a number of friends, visit our old stomping grounds in Enfield, and get pretty close to a pair of loons. Perhaps the most striking thing, though, was how similar it was to the way we remembered it. People were a little bit older--and children seemed to have grown like weeds--but it was pretty much the same place we left. It felt like home.