Above: Me and my friend, Nancy N. Friends for over 50 years!Talk About It Tuesday
I recently attended my High School Reunion. I agree with a classmate who said, “This is really fun, in kind of a strange way!”
This was my 40th reunion. When I got the invitation, I couldn’t believe it. It seemed like a mistake. 40 years? Really? I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea.
I had only attended one other reunion, my 10th. At the time, it seemed amazing to me that so many people that held such importance in my life just ten years earlier, had taken on a different role-- most of them were included in my “past” at the time of the reunion. I was happy for those who were finding success in family life as well as finances, yet they were no longer my role models and peers. I remember being amazed at the way life was moving along.
Now, my 40th reunion beckoned me, mostly because my friend since preschool was on the committee, and we both wanted to really SEE each other again. It’s one thing to send emails, and it’s quite a different thing to be in each other's presence. I was concerned that someone might remember me without my remembering them. My husband and I went, and I soon discovered I was not alone in my concern. In fact, it became quite funny to see the smiles on so many faces as we looked at name tags and shook our heads from side to side, indicating that there was no recollection of memory with that person.
I was grateful however, to reconnect with those I cared about those many years ago. There were three friends I wish could live nearby me now and forever! It was fun hearing the old music, seeing memorabilia, watching people smile as they remembered old times, and sobering to see the memorial wall of classmates who had already passed away. I'm very grateful to the planning committee for their untiring work in organizing such a happy and well-run event.
Now that I’m home, some memories haunt me, and I find myself making deliberate efforts to push them aside in order to get back to my work-a-day world. It will be good to write in my journal so I remember many specific things that I don’t want to forget.
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I’ve learned that it’s worth it to reunite with people we care about. I’m glad my friend “twisted my arm” and encouraged me to participate. I’m left wondering if YOU have had “reunion” experiences that benefited your life. Did you record your experiences in pictures or words? Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences that may encourage others to attend “reunions” in the comments section. It's an important part of our family history and personal history, I think.
