Monday, March 13, 2006

I have been a student of school reunions for some time now. My interest comes from having emcee'd our local Alumni Banquet since the beginning of time. Some general rules are:
1.the ten year class will buy tickets to the banquet and may or may not, show up. That party they were at, instead of the banquet, may or may not be written up in the local paper the next week.
2. The twenty five year class can still remember who the jerks were in high school. They also are pre-occupied with bragging about their kids.
3. The thirty, forty, fifty, and sixty year classes are the ones who have a good time.
My Bride and I attended our thirty-five year college reunion from the college we attended, this past weekend. It was a delight to get to sit down and talk to some good friends we haven't seen for a while.
Thirty five years out of college is enough to realize that life can be tough. We all realize how tentative life is. How disappointing it can be. How in the grand scheme of things, we're all pretty insignificant. We have our field of vision narrowed a bit. No, we have it narrowed a lot, which is good. We didn't have time for flowers, and Grandkids, friends, and reunions before. We have finally learned what really takes our breath away. Things like unexpected phone calls from family members and friends. Calls for no reason except to 'catch up'. Laughing out loud just because you heard a child laugh. Sentences like "Mom,Dad, we're getting married", or "Are you going to be home this weekend"?
Well, thanks to all the classmates who came. And to all who let me 'think' my 'entertainment' was good, on Saturday nite. It wasn't as good as getting in a good visit with you. Let's do it again soon. Don't forget the old saying, "Life isn't measured by the number of breaths you take, it's measured by the moments that take your breath away".

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cliff, that was GREAT. I caught myself wearing a knowing smile as I read it. Amen and amen!

Anonymous said...

Cliff,
My brother just had a mini- high school reunion for his birthday this week, about 19 folks. His class was always more fun than my own. One friend in particular, who flew in from Texas commented to me that "Life is good". There's a lot of truth in that statement.

Glad you had a good reunion.

Rachel said...

Your post made me smile too Cliff.
I'm so glad you had a good time.
You are a person who enjoys life, family, and friends. That is great and that's what really counts, plus faith in the Good Lord above.

I'm sure you entertained them very well!! I'll bet you caused a few laughs at least! Glad you and Marilyn had a good enjoyable trip.

Jamie Dawn said...

I'm glad you had a good time reminiscing & laughing.
I'm sure you kept everyone in stitches.
The good things in life are worth celebrating and thoroughly enjoying. There's plenty of sadness in the mix, so it's always great to squeeze every ounce of joy we can out of life.

Peter said...

Hi Cliff, it wasn't you by any chance that slipped that "Party" photo into my Pictures was it?

Ralph said...

Great post Cliff. There is a lot of truth in the words you wrote.
Ralph

Felecia said...

Thank you for extending the hope that my future reunions will be looking up, as I had almost written them off!

While I know I will have to learn these truths by way of my own experiences, I appreciate borrowing as much wisdom as possible for the journey.

eyes_only4him said...

wow, you have been out of collge as long as my hubby has been alive..

I have yet to attend a class reunion. I dont live in the same state anymore, but have no desire to go...I should..next one isnt till next 08..

you werent a jerk in school were ya cliff?

Anonymous said...

I have yet to attend a class reunion. My high school 50th year reunion was last year. At first I wanted to go, but Minnesota seemed so far away and there were so many other things to do and see.

My husband has always enjoyed going back to Iowa and his reunions.

Loved your enthusiasm for reunions and am so glad you enjoyed yours.