It all started on a chilly February weekend in 1977 in the hills of eastern Pennsylvania.

Braving snow drifts several feet high, hundreds of guests witnessed an important event in my life — a life that had yet to begin.

Yes, on February 12, 1977, my parents, Walter and Kathy Kronk, were married.

The coupling of my mother and father could not have been more coincidental. Introduced by mutual friends — my father co-worker to the husband, my mother co-worker to the wife — Mom and Dad instantly hit it off, and were married not far from my mother's hometown of Kutztown, Pa., within a year of being introduced.

Looking back, my parents are the definition of the cliche "opposites attract." My mother, a rural girl, went to school at Penn State. My dad, however, was born and raised in New York City, and went to a rival Big Ten school in Ohio State. Somehow, someway, they made it work back then.

And now, 25 years later, this weekend, in honor of their 25th anniversary, they are vacationing in…South Bend?!?

That's right, you heard me correctly. In honor of the 25th year since they were married, my parents felt it was a greater priority to make their presence known at the Notre Dame tradition known as Junior Parents Weekend, than to immediately jet off to some tropical paradise and sip exotic beverages with parasols in them.

While I think their priorities might be a little misaligned, I appreciate the fact that my parents have at the very least postponed their anniversary voyage in order to first spend time with their son who has been along for 84 percent of their married journey.

That, in my opinion, is what makes JPW such a unique weekend. Each junior parent that visits campus this weekend has made some sort of journey in order to be able to make it here. My roommate's parents, for example, are making the trek to tropical South Bend from the polar climate of North Dakota. I'm sure I will hear some interesting stories about snow and hockey and all things icy.

Everyone has made a unique journey to make it to South Bend here and now. And while some of these stories might be more mundane than others', that does not render them any less personal. Each of our parents — as well as each of us has a very personal, very special, and I'm sure, very interesting story to tell. And JPW is one of those few times in our lives when these stories will be shared.

To all junior parents: welcome to Notre Dame, and welcome to Junior Parents' Weekend. I hope you enjoy your weekend here, and I hope the weather holds out this weekend like it has for most of the winter. I also hope you get a chance to share your stories, as you all are the lifeblood of the Notre Dame family.

And, in closing, I would like to wish my parents a very happy (and very belated) 25th anniversary. I truly appreciate all you have done for me for the past 21 years. If anyone sees them on campus, wish them a happy anniversary as well. I'm sure they will appreciate it … seeing as how I forgot about their anniversary and, consequently, this serves as their only gift. I hope you like it.

• Journeys