Reunion

As my class of 1964 prepares for its 50th class reunion this coming September, the time we spend working on the preparations is a reunion in itself.

We want to reach every classmate so that each one receives an invitation, and so in that spirit, I started contacting some of the friends that meant so much to me growing up in the Fairview Park schools.

One of them is a friend who was in elementary school with me at some point.  You know, now that I'm thinking about it, I can't remember when she joined us!!  She left Fairview behind after college and moved about as far away from Ohio as she could.  She moved from California to the east coast about three years ago and she is a furniture designer.  She was always creative and talented!!  I sent her a message and she answered that she is definitely planning on being at the reunion. 

Another one was in my class from kindergarten on.  She became an elementary school teacher and spent her years teaching at a Catholic school.  She loves golf and she is on Facebook which is how I've more or less stayed connected with her these last few years.  I emailed her and she is coming to the reunion, AND she is willing to sing!!  Isn't that great?  Because one of the things we are definitely going to do is feature the musical talents of our class members.  There were 82 people in what we called Chorale during our senior year, made up of sophomores, juniors and seniors.  There were many students in band.  So this long-time friend is willing to go front and center without a moment of hesitation!!

Yet another classmate has really had a tough go the last few years.  Her husband passed away suddenly and she has had to go through quite an upheaval to get herself back together and that included selling vehicles and businesses.  Plus, she moved to Hartford, CT from upstate New York to be closer to family.  I don't think it is an accident that I contacted her about the reunion.  God works in our lives in all kinds of ways, and perhaps this reunion is one of them.

One of my classmates starting out in kindergarten has agreed to being the co-chair of entertainment with me.  He was always such a character in school.  He was very intense and if he was in stress over something, he would shred his pencils and leave all of the mess under the desk.  In kindergarten, he really liked the taste of the paste that comes in those huge jars.  He'd go up maybe two times for another gob of it before the teacher would realize that he'd eaten it.  Hilarious!  He always won the poster contests, and gee whiz -- no surprise he had his own advertising agency.  So we'll be able to come up with something interesting and inclusive.  I love seeing people coming together creating what some like to call synergy. 

The last couple of weeks I've really been sensing how blessed I am because of my wonderful family and friends.  How thankful I am!!  From birthdays to retirements to more birthdays, I've been so happy to spend time with the people who mean so much to me.

I've been reading O'Reilly's book, "Killing Jesus," this last week.  I'm about halfway done.  He talks about John the Baptist and how very basically he lived.  How he lived his life for one purpose -- to prepare the way for the Lord.  How humble he was. 

And then yesterday we watched a one-hour television program on CNBC about Pope Francis.  This is a man of the people.  He did not set himself apart but immersed himself into the Argentine neighborhoods and listened to the people, especially in Buenos Aires.  He knew that there is a time to pray and there is a time to act.  His life is an inspiration and it certainly resonated with me.

Reunions -- I'm seeing this event in September as something more than a social event.  It's a reflective.  It is joy!!

Thanks for listening today.  See you Wednesday.