Old Times...
Today was one of those "Old Times" days. The Old Times refers to when the nostalgia of days' past gets a hold of you---by the horns or by the feet---and you're overwhelmed. It's simply the images you see: Someone's cologne that triggers a memory, the smell of a delicious roast, the flash of a passerby that bring back a memory. You're happy, just as I was thrilled actually, to go through the experience once again... but when it's over, I was consumed by the memories of Old Times. In this case, it was the exhuberance of retelling a wonderful experience this last summer.
Come to think of it, I live to relive old times. This evening was no exception. I drove down to Baton Rouge today to attend a meeting at the BR Country Club for a Friends of French Meeting. Both Jessica and Katie were there--my old pals from the LSU in the Ubaye Valley Program--along with Allison Roark, our director. It was definitely nostalgic to see them again. This time, the only person missing was Paul.. good 'ol Paul. The last time that really any of us had seen of him was when he departed from us right after the program, while the three of us were en route to Paris for a few days. I look back through my summer pictures in Europe---in Barcelonnette with the gang, and the many things that kept us busy (and up all night!); the stint in Crema, Italy as an au-pair (yes, that was the last time too!) and traveling with my Mom and visiting Pascal in Switzerland. I get nostalgic everytime I flip through those digital pictures. Maybe one day I'll publish them, or write about them for that matter.
But for now, having my pictures at just a click away reminds me that all the time---and money spent---was indeed well worth the places I traveled to this last summer. You cannot put a price on Old Times.
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One of my favorite pictures taken in the Ubaye Valley:
Everynight, Paul, Katie, Jessica and I would haul ass downstairs in the Auberge we were staying at to play fooseball-- bourrés or not, that was the game that bound us together! These were the memories to remember. These were the days when we stuck together for a common cause-- for the adventure, the French, the mountainous experience...THESE were the good old times.
~ Chelsea