We Are....ND

Jackson and I were blessed to be given tickets to the ND - Nevada game this past weekend. Wandering my campus with my son caused me to reflect on what it means to truly be ND.

Scattered far and wide, we are still family.

• Jackson and I spent a few hours with the husband and daughter of one of my roommates from senior year. I had not seen Dennis I think since KTPs wedding, when Madelyn was a baby, or not yet born.


• But still, he with his daughter and me with my son, picnicked on South Quad, watched the kids throw the football, took turns with the kids while running to grab sun screen, and running to let them see the players march from the church to the stadium. We watched the band perform on the steps of the Archi building, and finally felt the game day chill/thrill when they struck up the greatest victory march.

Whether blood lineage or a brother met that day, we are family.

• Heading into the alumni building (a secret amongst our family that the best bathrooms are in there), we encountered a gentleman with two fingers up. He was looking for 2 tickets - for himself and his daughter. The tickets were given to me, so I gave them to him.
  
• Mike, ND'82, his wife ND'84 and two young daughters traveled to South Bend from Tennessee. Mike and Caroline joined Jackson and I for a great game. At the end, the four of us stood there, arms around each other, swaying to the Alma Mater. Me, Jackson, Caroline and Mike.

Young or old, we are sisters and brothers. A shared Spirit and Football unite us.

• Walking through White Field, Jackson toured various tailgates. He tossed bean bags and footballs, and was eventually given a football by a tailgater with a daughter about Jackson's age. It has traveled with him since that moment.
  
• Getting off the bus in front of the library, Jackson dropped his football under the bus tire. A man and his son, who had helped us off the bus, waited until everyone had gotten off, and asked the driver to wait. The son retrieved the ball and we waived the driver on.
  
• Walking through the quad, a man played toss with Jackson, from about the stadium to the bookstore while he chatted with his buddy.

As family we share meals.

• At breakfast at the hotel, Jackson joined a table with an ND Law'08 grad and his girlfriend. We shared stories, waffles, and my old tales of yore, including the background of "The Shirt" - now known as the Spirit Shirt.
  
  

Under the Golden Dome, whether in South Bend or across the world, we are One Family, with Notre Dame, Our Mother.

• Returning to South Bend, despite roads no longer being there, many new buildings blooming across the now vast campus, it was coming home. Coming home just as much as pulling into my parents' driveway later that night was coming home. Sleeping soundly with my little man next to me, a warm comfortable feeling that can only be home.
• And I loved seeing the spark, that spirit come alive in my little boy's eyes, as he first experienced tailgating, the kindness of "strangers", friendships started long before he came long, the enthusiasm of the crowd, the draw of the Glee Club, the beat of the band.
  

And listening to his cheer.

"Mommy, You say 'We Are.' I'll be ND"

I hope so, Buddy.