Reunions Part Two
This week has been one of reunions. It wasn't planned that way, but two friends from my high school years were in town, and I was able to connect with both of them on seperate occasions. I know I said that I wouldn't attend my high school grad reunion, but these kinds of reunions are are a treat for me.
The first was a message from a gal who hung out with my sister. [You might recall I liked to hang out with my sister's friends. She was one of them.] She and I had some adventures together and over the years, we have seen each other occasionally - always with the sweet anticipation of a great conversation, in which we alternately talk about deep issues, and share laughter over the absurdities we saw in life situations. She is a person with great insight. Even though our contact has been occasional since high school, whenever we have gotten together (often it has been the three of us - my sister, her and me), I have always been amazed at her ability to perceive and define the bottom line. So as you can imagine, it was soul-filling to spend an evening as moms of growing-into-adulthood children. We revisited some of our high school years and talked about the kind of teens we'd been. We shared news of our children and caught up on some of the activities we are involved in. We even had fun going to the hardware store to get some supplies for her daughter's room. There was no awkwardness, no having to wear a name tag saying who we were, for we had already known each other in our growing years, and our conversations intertwined past history, and present circumstances. It was as I said before, soul-filling.
The second reunion was with my best friend from high school. She phoned to say that she was coming into town for her brother's birthday and could she and her middle daughter hang out with us? We enjoyed three nights with them. In between all the festivities they went to, we laughed and talked, went sight-seeing and enjoyed ice cream and late night snacks. It was reminiscent of so many great times as we grew up - where I would go to her house (or she to mine) for sleepovers. Only now, we have the luxury of perspective on all the high school angst. She is married to a high-school friend of my husband, so not only did we have high school memories, we had memories of being young-marrieds, and young moms together. When each of us had two kids who were toddlers [or younger], she and I found a way of preserving our sanity by trading off babysitting hours. One of us would take all the kids for a couple of hours, while the other one went out on errands. Then we would switch. We generally ended up having supper together as well so as to extend our time. All this, while making sure our kids weren't swallowing foreign objects, or tearing each other apart. Even after they moved out of province, our families have seen each other occasionally and enjoyed each other's company. Our kids get along well; we consider them to be honorary cousins. It was so good to be together again. Having many years of history - even if it's not all shared history - is comforting, because even though we both like to think that we are so much different than high school, we are both much the same- only with more years behind us. Our strengths and our weaknesses still define who we are. And it is so nice to be with someone who knows all that and accepts you anyways.
The first was a message from a gal who hung out with my sister. [You might recall I liked to hang out with my sister's friends. She was one of them.] She and I had some adventures together and over the years, we have seen each other occasionally - always with the sweet anticipation of a great conversation, in which we alternately talk about deep issues, and share laughter over the absurdities we saw in life situations. She is a person with great insight. Even though our contact has been occasional since high school, whenever we have gotten together (often it has been the three of us - my sister, her and me), I have always been amazed at her ability to perceive and define the bottom line. So as you can imagine, it was soul-filling to spend an evening as moms of growing-into-adulthood children. We revisited some of our high school years and talked about the kind of teens we'd been. We shared news of our children and caught up on some of the activities we are involved in. We even had fun going to the hardware store to get some supplies for her daughter's room. There was no awkwardness, no having to wear a name tag saying who we were, for we had already known each other in our growing years, and our conversations intertwined past history, and present circumstances. It was as I said before, soul-filling.
The second reunion was with my best friend from high school. She phoned to say that she was coming into town for her brother's birthday and could she and her middle daughter hang out with us? We enjoyed three nights with them. In between all the festivities they went to, we laughed and talked, went sight-seeing and enjoyed ice cream and late night snacks. It was reminiscent of so many great times as we grew up - where I would go to her house (or she to mine) for sleepovers. Only now, we have the luxury of perspective on all the high school angst. She is married to a high-school friend of my husband, so not only did we have high school memories, we had memories of being young-marrieds, and young moms together. When each of us had two kids who were toddlers [or younger], she and I found a way of preserving our sanity by trading off babysitting hours. One of us would take all the kids for a couple of hours, while the other one went out on errands. Then we would switch. We generally ended up having supper together as well so as to extend our time. All this, while making sure our kids weren't swallowing foreign objects, or tearing each other apart. Even after they moved out of province, our families have seen each other occasionally and enjoyed each other's company. Our kids get along well; we consider them to be honorary cousins. It was so good to be together again. Having many years of history - even if it's not all shared history - is comforting, because even though we both like to think that we are so much different than high school, we are both much the same- only with more years behind us. Our strengths and our weaknesses still define who we are. And it is so nice to be with someone who knows all that and accepts you anyways.
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