Yesterday I attended a reunion of my mom’s classmates. It was a last minute invite; arriving via email mid-day from my mom’s best friend. Mom and dad were born in the Valley. So was I. They met at half-time, at a football game, fell in love and the rest is history.
Oddly enough, this reunion was being held just down the street from where I now live in one of the classmate’s island vacation homes. The valley is four hundred miles away. I was compelled to go.
As chance would have it, today is a class reunion for my own high school classmates. Many of us have not seen one another for decades. Myself; I moved away to another part of this vast state and went to college. From college, I moved farther on to a very different part of the US and a very different part of my life.
The crowd at yesterday’s gathering was very small. I stood in the kitchen and chatted with the charming hostess. She had enough food to feed a small army. 24 people had RSVP’d but at the very last minute, many of their plans had changed and they could not make the journey. Eight octogenarians made it.
In the living room, on the coffee table, their cherished old year books were on display. Off to the side on a desk, there was a book for the guests to sign-in. There was also a few newspaper clippings of the obituaries of some of their classmates. Mom’s obituary was included.
Being around people who knew my mom as a girl was truly gratifying. Some of them had known my dad too and that added another layer to the level of connection. One of them reminded me of the story of how some of our families had relocated together from the Valley to this part of the state, following jobs.
These friends had gathered together to re-connect. This dedicated group does it annually.
I’ve not been to a high-school class reunion for about a decade. It’s been 46 years since my high school class graduated. It has been 65 years since my mom’s classmates graduated.
Connection really defined the gathering. They had all been rooted to a place and a time that still meant enough to them to remember it and honor it. They were paying tribute to their shared past.
May we all be inspired enough to genuinely reconnect with people who once deeply mattered to us.
I felt intensely connected to my mom and dad being surrounded by people who once knew and valued them.
Take a moment to connect with valuable old friends. I will certainly aspire to do this at today’s reunion.