Reunion Afterglow

Best buddies Suzanne and Dave

Suzanne Sally and I all got the striped shirt memo

I just spent the weekend at my 30^th college reunion and with each five-year passing people get better.  One of the upsides of being over fifty is most people have softened into their nicest selves.   Perhaps our aging eyes help us see people in a more easy-going light or our memories have let go of any past un-harmonies.  Mostly I think that by this point in life it is not about what you have, the position you attained or how you look, but really the content of your soul.

There are those close friends who I have constant contact with who make the reunion comfortable and safe.  One acquaintance said when I got there he was glad to see me because he had not seen anyone else he knew up to that point and was feeling like a freshman on the first day of college all over again.  Those insecurities existed for just a second and quickly people relaxed into their true selves.

I loved sharing with people I have known more than half their lives, but not seen daily.  We cut through all the frivolous and got right to the heart of what they were passionate about now, struggled with or hoped for. Of course there was the rehashing and laughing of old stories but people opened up about disappointments or difficult relationships or sadness’s but seemed to be quickly comforted by the love and compassion shown by the group.

The real bonus I find at reunions is getting to know people I did not really know well or deepen new or shallow friendships.  I shared a room with my best friend Suzanne and we spent time talking with different people at the gatherings and then late in the night, in of the less than stellar Sleep Inn, we talked in the dark sharing the conversations we had.

Because of world of Facebook and things like this blog I had gotten to know some people much better in the last five years and the reunion was like a hug from a long lost friend.  I love that I know Sally, Mel and Maria better now and treasure them even more.  Sally even asked me how the reunion food was on my diet and thankfully with all the time being spent talking and very little time eating I lost a pound.

My thanks go out to the whole committee who worked so hard to bring us this perfect weekend.  How they gave us weather that was better than any day we had a semesters of Fridays our Freshman year I will never know.  A big shout out to Pam Kurey who by virtue of being married to Greg was an honorary member of the committee and seemed to work harder setting things up and taking things down than anyone else who was actually in our class.

No matter what is happening in your life going back to your reunion will enhance it.  Don’t miss another opportunity to reconnect, rehash, reminisce and relearn.  Everyone is better than you remember and so are you.