Letting Go

Tri Delta Bid Day 2003
Pig Tails for Everyone

On my way home from work last Thursday, Suzy Bogguss' "Letting Go" came through loud and clear on my radio and I was taken back a few years. It hit me like a ton of bricks and I sang every word as loud as I could sing. Thousands of memories flashed through my mind. I was taken back to the Tri Delta house in Starkville. I was taken back to rush. I was taken back to the night where I made the final decision to become a DDD and my life changed forever, Pref Night. I had no idea what the next four years had in store or the life long friends that I had just made. 

The Life-Longs!!

Then it hit me. The time has come. We leave in three short days to move Eleanor into her dorm at Mississippi State. My whole life, I thought this day was so far away and I honestly still can't grasp that it's really happening this week. Her life will be changed forever and changed in ways she could never imagine. I could not be more excited for her. 

She will begin rush in a few short days and my main prayer is that she will find a perfect home, like I did. I hope she finds the best group of life-long friends, like I did. That she will forget all of the dramas of high school and start this new and much better phase of life, like I did. 

I hope she never misses a football game and that she goes to some away games (one of my biggest regrets). I hope she spends many a nights in the Left Field Lounge at Dudy Noble and spends many a early morning in line for basketball tickets. I hope she spends lots of time dancing the night away with her girlfriends and I hope she takes advantage of every concert that comes to town. (I could still kick myself for missing Snoop Dog and Dwight Yoakam) I hope she cranks her country music up and takes many drives around the refuge. I hope she spends many afternoons with her friends on a patio somewhere, figuring out life. I hope she truly appreciates the deliciousness of a bar bq sandwich from Petty's, a plate lunch from Cappe's, a pizza from Stromboli's and everything on the menu at Oby's... Yes, everything. (I still crave them,often.) Speaking of restaurants, I hope she works in one. Everyone needs to. And I really hope she takes a little more advantage of the Sanderson Center than I did. (Note to self: A few leisurely laps around the track, once a semester, does not count as a work out.) I hope she throws random themed parties for no good reason at all. Those made for the best of nights. 

Camo Night... Why not?
We had to "delta-fy" all of our friends, duh.

I surely hope she makes some mistakes and I hope she learns from them. I hope she lives in her sorority house and I hope she takes advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. I hope that she finds a major that she loves and is passionate about. I hope she is very involved on campus and that her love for the Lord will show in all she does. I hope she finds a church home and that as many times as it may be tested, that she never loses her christian spirit. And last but not least, I hope she loves being a bulldog as much as I do and I hope she soaks up every single moment of those few short years, like I did.

O, and of course, I hope she attends a few more classes and studies a little harder than I did. And doesn't miss an exam.. (your planner is only your friend if you write down everything correctly...) Yea.. that doesn't go over well with the parents. But if it does happen, call them when you're crying hysterically. They feel a little more sorry for you that way.