My husband and I took a road trip during Easter weekend to visit family back east. On the way home, we made a stop at my alma mater so I could do some work on two articles I have going involving the school. I was excited about touching base with a place where I'd spent four awesome years. Only after we arrived and I started visiting with current students as well as faculty and administrators who I'd worked with while I was a student there did I realize how important touching base is.

This is a place I want to stay connected to, although you wouldn't know it based on the number of trips I've taken in recent years. Yeah, I have college party stories, but I also have stories of gaining career and—more importantly—life skills. I have relationships with the president of the college, a dean, department directors, and alumni executive committee members. The base I worked hard to build is still there.

I think we all walk away from a past endeavor and sometimes forget what we left and how we can put it to work for us. That's selfishly put. Don't miss understand me: somewhere down the line, we usually return the favor. In fact, returning the favor makes touching base that much more powerful. My visit was intended to be a research trip but ended up being an opportunity to connect. The opportunity to connect is fodder to find more excuses to touch base again.