40 Years Later

Yesterday, June 12, was the 40th anniversary of my high school graduation.

A few months ago I got a phone call from a former classmate who told me that she and another classmate have been working on finding all of us so we could celebrate this significant milestone in our lives. I was thrilled. There are a couple of friends with whom I have kept in touch but I must sadly admit that I did not really put myself out to see them and did not communicate much.

Soon after, another former classmate called and said she was having a get together at her house. It turns out she literally lves 10 minutes from me! At that gathering, we discovered that many of us all live within 10-15 miles of each other and some not that much farther afield. This led to three more "mini-reunions". I also was asked to work on the planning committee and we have had a couple of "meetings". No, serioiulsy, we did do planning but they were also fun.

What is it like to see people whom you haven't seen in 40 years? Before I answer, let me tell you that I attended a small, Catholic Girls' High School. There were about 65 in our entire class. Even if we didn't hang out with a particular person, we all knew each other and, to the best of my knowledge, got along fairly well.

So, to answer the question: it has been phenomenal. There is only one word I can use to describe how we feel: it is love. There seems to be a bond among us that time has not broken. As we catch up with each other, the memories come back (well, for some of us {chuckle}). It is just a tremendous feeling to reconnect with those with whom we spent the formative years of our lives.

I could go on and on about this experience. Let me just add what I wrote in an email, "We will be now be friends until death do us part".