Reunion Randoms <3

Well, here is the random version of the class reunion. 

I processed in my journal on Monday morning by making five categories…five is a good number for me. As Rachel once told me, easy to remember because you have five fingers on one hand…sigh…I hope to be like her when I grow up. 

Anywho…the categories were:

Wins

Weirds

Letdowns

Surprises

Funny

I will leave the weirds to my journal for safe keeping, but I have a fifth one to replace it, don’t you worry….here we go in no particular order:

Random #1 

Wins

I reconnected with two grade school friends and it brought closure to the three years I had in that little elementary school. We moved there in the summer before fourth grade. 

One friend moved in that year as well and was from a military family, also. As we talked she said I was her first friend there and she was mine. We talked about how hard it had been to go from living all your life moving from base to base and coming to a place where everyone knew each other from birth on. 

We kind of moved into different friend groups as we got settled and while we were never not friends, it wasn’t the same after grade school.

It was sweet to hug her one more time and to hear that our friendship had mattered to her as much as it did me. 

There was a similar experience with another friend who I only played with at recess. She was super athletic and was the funniest girl ever. Again, we didn’t have a lot to do outside of that setting but I have carried her in my heart and was so thankful to hug her beautiful self and exchange some texts even after the event. 

I also reconnected with a high school friend. She came our sophomore year and we had many laughs and fun together but never kept up after high school. Sitting with her and laughing and talking again I realized she is one of those rare friends who you just pick up right where you left off. 

As we chatted at the Friday event, I mentioned our French/English teacher and she was excited to hear I had reconnected with her. I invited her to our Saturday morning meet up which leads us to….

Random #2

Surprises

I did not remember Lisa and I had this connection with our lovely teacher and it was so much fun to sit with these two ladies and reminisce. I had even forgotten she had also taught us English one year!

We talked about float building and parades, French club shenanigans and other teachers from our archives.

My friend LIsa still has family in town that my French teacher knows and I loved sitting and listening to all the updates on life in that town that I left 50 years ago. 

This was a warm and fuzzy morning for me and Russ was wonderful to sit with the three of us and take it all in. 

After we bid these two adieu, we headed to a nearby town where dear friends from here have moved to be near family. 

It was a side reunion that was so heart-filling. We have missed going to eat with them and attend church together and so having lunch on Saturday and going to their church on Sunday was a definite surprise addition to the reunion trip. 

Random #3 

Letdowns

Just being totally honest. 

Seeing people at 68 when the last time you saw them they were in cap and gown, walking across the stage to get their high school diploma is sobering and tender.

There were several different scenarios –

 Some I could see immediately just an older version of my classmate, some I recognized the young face on the lanyard and remembered the person even if the face had changed quite a bit. 

Some were an awkward drawing of a blank on either the current or past version. 

And I was that for others as well. 

There was no neutral ground. 

It was obvious if you were remembered or not and that was a feeling I had dreaded and it was as uncomfortable as I anticipated. I was so very grateful to have Russ by my side. He is a gem in social settings and I relied on him to keep me from embarrassing myself too much <3

Random #4

Funny

So you all know I am a tiny bit on the vain side, right?

Like I am the poster child for being in a bad mood if it’s a bad hair day. 

Yet, when making plans to attend this reunion well in advance that I could have altered things, I did agree to having my hair appointment the Monday AFTER the reunion AND allowing the dermatologist to freeze multiple skin tags two days BEFORE.

And I could have cared less. 

Sure it would have been nice to have a fresh haircut and a neck that didn’t have large red blotches, I guess…but in the grand scheme of things I weigh thirty pounds more, have what we unfortunately call “turkey neck” in full turkey and I now wear glasses because I like to be able to see. 

Thus a scruffy hair do and some post procedure blotches are just small change these days. 

It was wonderful to NOT feel self-conscious which leads me to ….

Random #5 

Summary of the experience

On the way back home, we stopped at my parents’ grave to pay our respects. This is not their grave. It is their “neighbor” Harlan David Sanders. 

Yes, my father purchased the plot across the lane from the Colonel King of fried chicken. He thought it was funny to say he would burrow over when he wanted a bucket of extra crispy. 

I appreciate it because there is a yellow line from the entrance of the cemetery to the two Colonels’ graves. 

It was good to stay a moment and remember my parents. Several class mates mentioned them in good ways and it was sweet to know they had meant something to my friends. 

Having moved away right after graduation, sometimes it feels like the years there are just made up in my head. 

It was healing to be remembered, and even not remembered by some. It grounded me in a past that has been mostly my own memories and I can’t quite explain it but I am so grateful that those years existed, those people existed…they are part of who I am. 

When we got home, after putting some order to the yard and house, we went over to friends and sat on the patio for a while. 

One of them asked me who was the biggest success story of our class and I said me. 

We laughed, but I said…seriously…as I answered the question multiple times about what I did after high school, over and over I marveled at the wonderful life the Lord has given me. 

I would hope and pray that every single classmate feels the same way.

We are all, hopefully, the success story of our journey if we can say, I wouldn’t have done it any differently. 

Of course we all have seasons or places we wish we would have handled better, but in the end, those were also part of what made us who we are today. 

I don’t mean that in a boastful way. It is just with a heart of deep gratitude to the Lord that I have made it thus far and I know He will carry me through to the end. 

How great is our God <3