Posted by
Pearl on Thursday, January 22, 2009 9:45:27 PM
May 2009 marks the 30th anniversary of my graduation from Colby High School, Colby Kansas (Home of the Eagles, and " The Golden Buckle of the Wheat Belt"). There were 112 in my graduating class, I think. I've stayed in touch with some classmates on a regular basis, via email forwards and Christmas cards, pics and letters. Others I am happy to see and visit with at reunions, which are "all-school reunions" every five years, meaning everyone who ever attended CHS is invited to the reunions every five years. There are class parties, an assembly, and plenty of informal get-togethers. I am so grateful to have grown up in a small town, where I not only know most of the people who were in the classes three years ahead and three years behind, but also many who graduated 20 and 30 years earlier (our parents and grandparents and community members). It is always fun.
So, my friend Gail mentioned our 30th reunion in her Christmas card, and said we should "get together." So I started emailing and phoning. Everybody agrees it's a great idea, and most seem committed and just waiting for the where and when. I looked at my yearbook tonight to look for more to include. I'll make some more phone calls soon. Sadly, my friend Sherri, who was also my college roommate, will likely not be able to attend, as she has moved to Scotland (a great adventure, no doubt)!
I have met so many people who tell me they have never gone to a high school reunion and some who say they would never do so--they hated high school, hated the people they went to school with. I think it is so sad if they really hated everyone, but my experience is that the beauty of reunions is we're not in high school anymore. The old social lines are gone. I found, at my first reunion after graduating, that we all seemed different; people we liked in high school may or may not still be likeable, but the most wonderful discovery was that I liked people I didn't like in high school, and our conversations were interesting, cordial and delightful. I have had that experience over and over again at reunions, talking with someone I didn't know (or maybe didn't like) in high school and coming away thinking--I like her (or him)! I think there is a scripture, which Barack Obama referred to in his inaugural when he said the time has come to put away childish things. I seem to remember it (or maybe just some sage advice) as "When I was a child, I thought as a child . . ."
We're grownups now. Some are grandparents. I'm looking forward to another chance to connect with old friends and acquaintances who may become old friends.