Remember When?

Recently I attended my high school reunion.  It was so much fun to see so many childhood friends that I haven’t seen in years.  I guess that’s the beauty of a reunion as you get a chance to reconnect with others and you know how much I appreciate connecting with people!

It was interesting as the party went on and we reminisced ~ Remember When? ~ was often the start of a conversation which ended with giggles.  Among the guests were friends whom I’ve known since Kindergarten.  It’s an amazing experience to reminisce with people with whom you have gone to school for 13 years, all the way until high school graduation!  Even though many of us have changed hair color, grown a little bigger and now have children of our own, it was as if by magic, SNAP, we all were back to age 16!  I think that is in the ease of sharing such a group history that we all sparkled for the night!

For there’s something precious about the childhood friendship you make.  There’s nothing like that good feeling of going back ‘home’ for a little while where people know your name, they know who you are, they remember you fondly and you remember them with fondness.  We’ve all mellowed with age and just enjoyed being together.  What a feat ~ what a gift ~ what a blessing.

Greetings with hugs and kisses on the cheek, we bonded again.  Laughter filled the room as we easily joked and teased eachother like family.  We talked about being grownups and parents and how our children did the same things we did.  It’s hard to imagine that we are that old!

What I liked best about the night was that none of us seemed to notice the physical changes.  Instead we concentrated on the friendships that had been established years before and we saw the essence of those kids we knew way back when.  Many of us don’t see eachother more than at reunions, but it’s as if that history makes the immediate grin of connection smoothly jump through years of time in a flash and the comfort level is immediate as is the banter.

Being surrounded by friends who knew my essence, who knew me and accepted me for who I was and who I am is a gift.  No judgment, just friendship.  Growing up, many of us knew eachother’s parents and unfortunately, we have now attended quite a few funerals for them.  One childhood friend in particular unexpectedly showed to my Dad’s funeral 3 years ago and when we hugged at our reunion, tears came to our eyes.  I told her how it meant the world to me that she was there, even though we had lost touch.  Her response that she just had to be there for me warmed my heart to its core.  It was special moments like this which were so precious to me and reminded me again and again how blessed we are in this life.

There’s nothing like friendship and connecting with others, even after so many years.  There are good stored memories within you which ignite and twinkle when we reminisce.  It seems to me that we look for and hold onto the good in our past.  At this age, it’s not so much about competition in that situation, it’s simply about connection, our youth, silly moments and sharing smiles.

Cheers to sparkling memories of Auld Lang Syne…

Shine On!

xo

Remember this song?