Another "Second First:" My High School Reunion

This post builds on the many "second firsts" I've been talking about in my blog. . . things I'm doing again, but for the first time as a widow.  Everything is different, once you become a widow.  Here's another second first: my high school reunion.

Me (far left, with wine glass in hand) and my GPHS 40th Reunion Planning Teammates

For the last 6 months, I’ve been meeting with a small group of my old high school friends to plan our 40^th high school reunion.  I had reconnected with Jackie while Scott was sick.  Jackie was a classmate who I didn’t really know that well in high school, but knew well enough to say, “Hey, remember me?”  And she did.  About 25 years ago her name came up when my mother-in-law said a nurse in her dialysis clinic had known me in high school.  Jackie was that nurse.  My mother-in-law has since long passed away, and now my husband was dying.  Jackie is a great friend to have under such sad situations, as she deals with serious health issues daily, and she’s such a reassuring presence.  Anyway, Jackie and I got to talking about wanting to reconnect with long-lost classmates.  One thing lead to another, and pretty soon we had a small band of classmates together at a pub in Springfield, Oregon, planning for a reunion . . . our 40^th . . .  to occur in less than 6 months.  Could we pull it off?  We wanted to keep it simple (where people could just mingle and get to know each other again) and cheap (so more people could afford to attend).  We thought we’d be extremely lucky to get 40-50 people.  With a graduating class of somewhere close to 700 people, we figured there might be that many classmates still in town or close by.  We never anticipated so many people would travel to make it for the reunion.  We set up a website on Classmates.com and a page on Facebook, and we did lots of promotion via various social media.  The turnout simply amazed me.  We had over 150 people at each of the three events planned.

We graduated from a town with only ONE high school at the time, so I thought I knew everyone in town.  NOT true!  And I had forgotten many of the people I knew back then. What a trip.  It was like meeting a hundred strangers that I had an amazing familiarity with.  We all have led interesting lives in the 40 years since we crossed under those rose-covered arches to graduate, but we all share a common background and experience that ties us together.  It was hands down, the best reunion experience I have been a part of.  One of the best parts was the side-bar small gatherings we managed to squeeze into the weekend.  A group of 9 of us took a jet boat trip down the Rogue River.  That was a hoot!  My brother-in-law was our pilot, so he made sure we got a few extra spins in and made the trip extra fun.  A group of us went to the “Back to the 50’s Cruise,” a parade of classic cars.  I enjoyed the company of good friends over three meals a day.  And the wine, oh my, oh my.  The wine flowed continuously.

My classmates are very generous.  We raffled off gifts donated by various classmates, and we ended up raising close to $500 for the GPHS Scholarship Foundation.

Only a PORTION of the classmates attending our 40th reunion.  Go Cavemen!

Over the years I have kept in touch with only a few classmates, and only a couple of them live in our old hometown still.  I go back there often, since my dad, my sister, and my sister’s daughter all live there.  But it is rare that I really get time to hang out with old friends.  And that’s all I did this last weekend.  I had the time of my life.  It was great meeting (re-meeting) old friends.  !   I’ve been telling people it was like meeting strangers I’ve known my whole life.   It was fun to see how my 18-year old friends had matured into amazing adults.  Of course, we’ve all had a lot of “life” happen in between high school and now.  The weekend  just wasn’t long enough.  Actually the whole week I was in town was not long enough. . . .on the one hand . . . but on the other hand . . . I was exhausted and needing to go back to work, just to rest. 

I am learning how valuable my friends are.  Especially now that I am a widow. . . .but even before.  The biggest difference now is this:  I do not have to worry about my husband being bored while I enjoy the company of my old friends.  I remember earlier reunions, where that was the case.  But no more.  I continue to look for the positive side of widow-hood, and this is something positive.  I have time to reconnect with long lost old friends.  I simply LOVE spending time catching up, and reflecting on our lives together.  So if you’re an old friend of mine, reading this, and we haven’t had a chance to sit down and chat over a glass or wine, or over the Internet . . . please contact me.  I’d love to get caught up.  Really!   In fact, I’m working on planning a “Girls Weekend” for somewhere on the Oregon coast or maybe on a river.  Just need to slow down long enough to make plans.  If you have ideas, or just want to go, let me know.