reunion 2 Last weekend I attended my 50th high school reunion in Gig Harbor. A lot has happened in the past 50 years and there’s no way to catch up on all of it in a few hours. But, surprisingly, I felt connected to many of the people as if those fifty years hadn’t passed us by. I looked at familiar faces and saw what the years had “added” but I also remembered all the fun we had and the sheer freedom of being young with a whole life ahead of us.

Now many of our classmates have passed on. Out of 129 grads 27 have died. That’s sobering. It made me realize again how precious friends and family are and how we need to live each day fully. They pass by too quickly. There were a few surprises to my evening. I met a man who used to be my neighbor  when I was just a little girl. My brother and I spent a whole summer with he and his sister. It turns out he taught at my old Alma Mater for over thirty years after I graduated. There were some people I didn’t recognize without looking at the nametags complete with our high school graduation pictures attached.

Several of my teachers attended the event too. They seemed old to me when I was in high school, but now they’re  contemporaries. Imagine all the life experiences in a group like that. Lots of joy and sorrow. Lots of losses and some amazing careers.

One of our classmates hosted a wonderful picnic on Anderson Island on Sunday. That was the best time because we were able to relax, enjoy good company and food and just talk together. Thanks Dave and Jeannie. And to all of my Curtis High classmates from 1963, here’s to many more years ahead

I have good memories of high school. It was a golden time of discovery and hope for the future. As I look back I realize how blessed I’ve been. Great home and family life, great kids and grandkids, a career I loved and now retirement. My good husband didn’t freak out when we realized I’d forgotten his pants for the reunion event. He gamely attended in his “knickers.” What a guy. Of course forgetting the pants had nothing to do with old age.