<p>It seems like just yesterday when I moved to The Dating Desert for my first lead teaching position in a Montessori classroom.  I welcomed 30 3 -6 year olds to the world of education, and now those same 3 year olds are freshmen in college. </p>

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<p>Eeeekkkk!!! </p>

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<p>This revelation propels me into mid-life angst faster than you can sing Itsy Bitsy Spider.  Where has the time gone???</p>

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<p>To continue this weird time haze theme, I thought it would be a kick to visit one of these 3-now-18 year-olds in college.  I was invited by Kim (aka Kimeee) and not by the 3-now-18 year-old who, now that I think of it, must have been absolutely mortified by the thought of her mom and former preschool teacher showing up but is too sweet to say anything. </p>

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<p>So Kimeee and I arrived for dinner at Arizona State University, home of the Sun Devils and widely known as one of the largest party schools in the nation.  However, Kimeee  and I were here for the organic dinner catered by Singh Farms at the Honors College cafeteria, not a frat party.  You might remember from my old blog that <strong>the whole cougar craze makes me want to yak</strong>. </p>

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<p>Lauren is enrolled in the honors college there, and it is common knowledge that her brilliance stems from her most formative preschool years and the woman who taught her how to read.  This combined with her stellar maternal gene pool sets her into the stratosphere of braniac-ness. </p>

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<p>As we walked through campus, memories of my college days flooded back to me.  I remembered what it was like to be immersed in that stage of life, where everything is filled with hope, possibility and promise.  I encountered a strange mixture of sadness and elation.  It seems that with each passing decade, life tries to stomp that wide-eyed enthusiasm out of us.  Loss, failure, betrayal, and a host of other ugly life events create obstacles for us.  The wide-eyed enthusiasm in no longer a given.  It's a choice.  Some days the choice is easy, and some days we have to trick ourselves into believing it.  But the choice is always there. </p>

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<p>But enough with the waxing philosophical crapola.  The choice was most definitely a cake walk on Day 20.  The buzz and excitement of college and fresh new start was contagious. </p>

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