Reminiscing about the passion and ease of college days

I was having one of those days. Not a good day or a bad day, just of day filled with frustration. It seemed like I couldn’t accomplish anything off my “to-do list.” I was hoping the dishes would stay clean for an hour, but someone needed a snack. After that, they left their dishes everywhere in my clean kitchen.

Then my mother called and then my sister called, and then something gross got spilled—ketchup, lots of ketchup. While cleaning what I had hoped would stay a clean kitchen, I had a flashback.

Remember when we were in college? We had so few responsibilities and one focus: ourselves. When the pressure was too much and we needed to relax, Friday would arrive and we would get drunk, get laid and sleep late—all within a 12-hour time frame.

It may sound harsh, crude and completely irresponsible, but remember, this was college!

I prefer to observe this scenario as a coming of age expression of stress, time management and freedom.

Try it with me, throw all political correctness to the wind and let loose. When I say freedom I’m talking about a liberating freedom, not the “proud to be an American” kind. The “I don’t live with my parents, but they still pay for everything, but I don’t have to hear their criticism every day in person” kind of freedom.

Let’s take a closer look.

The last time I drank too many alcoholic beverages, I broke all the rules I learned in college about drinking. First off, I didn’t eat enough. I was feeding all the people in my backyard, and it rained and thundered for hours. My hostess anxiety got the best of me and I emptied the bottle of wine. Yes, I hugged porcelain all the next day, but my stomach was flat.

As a parent, I yearn to not have one eye on the door or one ear listening for the kids. I miss that uninhibited, let’s do it anytime and anywhere attitude I had toward sex in college. Sometimes the planning and scheduling of passion can be downright passionless.

You remember, seeing a guy across the room, thinking he was “yummy” and wanting him? Right here, right now—with protection, of course! Some days I miss those nameless bodies, I mean faces. Sorry, I cannot remember names from the 1980s! Can you? That was decades ago.

I loved to sleep late. Especially the “sleep late with a friend, then get up a little hung-over, need coffee, eggs and more passion” kind. The “my friend just left so let me call my best friend as I lounge all afternoon” kind of sleep late. Then, why get out of bed? I had nothing to do until Monday morning’s class. Remember the “I might get up and shower just to go out tonight, or just order Chinese food and stay-in” days?

Sometimes, as a responsible parent in my late 40s, I yearn for a simpler time. A time that was less hectic, less scheduled, with less dishes to wash and more passion. After all, sex is sex, but passion can be dreamy.

What’s that? Oh, it’s the alarm clock. I have to get out of bed, make lunch, put laundry in the washer, take something frozen out the freezer for dinner, wash my yoga mat, check my email, confirm Girl Scout details, teach yoga class and take a breath—then celebrate. This is our life, with our families, messes and all. I would not trade it for that nameless college crush, only on those days.

Melody Lima is a  yoga teacher, and a mom who enjoys sharing her observations on and off the yoga mat through her writing. The older she get the more simple everything appears. She can be contacted at [email protected]

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Editor: Maja Despot

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