Tonight is homecoming in Ravenna. I imagine the stands at Citizen’s Field filled with a sea of blue and white clothed fans. Probably the only rival to the chants of the cheerleaders is the loud, hollow tink tink tink of cowbells being rung excitedly.
Right now it’s just about the end of the fourth quarter and the Dogs are huddled on the field listening intently to the quarterback plan out the final push to take the lead. The marching band in the stands is playing “Louie Louie.” Little kids, oblivious to the rivalry of high school football and much more into not catching cooties from the opposite sex, are weaving in, out, and around the underside of the bleachers.
The Senior Class dominates the top rows of the student section. They take in all that is around them, knowing that this is their moment. Their time to shine. Their last time to stomp these stands, clap their hands, shout at the tops of their lungs from the Senior section. The excitement is filling them up and draining them at the same time. Their voices are hoarse. Cheeks flushed and cold.
The cheerleaders run, jump, holler, chant. They have tears in their eyes each time their coach’s farewell banner comes into view. One last Herkie of their high school cheerleading career and a basket toss to finalize the season.
And then it’s over. The stands empty. Victory chants linger as the last fan exits the gates.
In what seems like the blink of an eye, it’s eighteen years later and I am eight hundred miles away from Citizen’s field. Eight hundred miles away from the town I called home for twenty six years.
I wish I had known then that I would not remember every single second of those moments. I wish I had known that the memories would float in and out; that recollection doesn’t always appear when summoned.
I wish I’d taken more photographs. I wish the camera that is now an extension of my fingertips and the keeper of my memories had been with me then.
But, most of all, I wish that I hadn’t wished so hard to be all grown up. Maybe if I hadn’t always been looking to the future, I’d have preserved those moments better in my mind. I’d have lived in the moment more and let the experiences permeate my being with such deepness that there’s no way I’d ever have forgotten.
And then from another non cheerleader I can't remember if I ever went to one football game once I was in high school?????? But there is a lot I don't remember just ask Billie and Melanie 🙂
Liz