Reminiscing: High School Reunions

A recent blog post from a friend reminded me about high school reunions. I’ve attended two – my 25th and my 40th. The 25th was a resounding success, a comeback for a very shy student. I got to attend with my husband/soulmate (found after two divorces). 

I wrote a short speech and gave it to resounding success. This is that speech…

August 4 1990
A RETROSPECTIVE

Dear Classmates,

Here I sit reflecting on the past 25 years. Where did it go? Twenty-five years, a quarter of a century!

We left high school with enthusiasm and high hopes. Some went to college, some to work. Some got married, some didn’t.

The 60’s were a radical change for some of us – free love, drugs, rock music and Vietnam. For others, time seemed to move more slowly, perhaps even standing still.

The 70’s started out on the same ‘HIGH’ as the 60’s. Make love, not war. Of course some of us were too busy with our growing families and advancing careers to notice. Others were still living day by day. But by the end of the 70’s we started to notice a change, we were settling more and more into the mold set by our parents. We changed some of the angles, maybe smoothed some of the edges, but it was still the same mold of responsibility eventually accepted by all generations.

In the 80’s we started to take a closer look at ourselves. Some careers were flourishing, others were dying. Some went back to school, others changed direction. Marriages came and went. We had to deal with single parenting, blended families and step-children. The world around us was changing rapidly, sometimes more rapidly than we could accept. Our children were facing a world vastly different from the one in which we had grown up in. As the 80’s drew to a close we realized that we had officially passed into the world of middle-age, even though we knew in our hearts that middle aged people were really 10 years older than us!

Now here it is 1990 and we’re looking at not only a new decade but the end of a century. Where will we go from here? What forces will shape our next 10 years? How will we fare in the days to come?

Well over the last 25 years I’ve learned one very important lesson – the value of friendship. No matter how bad things may seem, friends will help you through. Some of us are fortunate enough to be married to our best friend, others can count on family. But the friendships sustained over the years will always be of great value to us. They allow us to maintain a balance in our lives. Some of these friendships were started right here in high school. Others came later in life. Some of us had close friends but lost touch, others still remain in close contact.

So keep this thought in mind tonight – renew those friendships that have strayed, maybe start some new ones. But no matter what happens, let’s have a good time and a great decade!

Donna Blanchard Yeaw

The 40th was tough. It was my first big outing since my husband had passed the previous November. Held in October, I had just finished riding my Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe through 42 states (over 27k miles) and planned to ride it to the reunion.

I tried, I really did, but the weather (tropical storm Tammy) got the best of me. I ended up leaving my motorcycle at a hotel in Pennsylvania and renting a car. The weather was still bad when I arrived at Hampton Beach. The turnout was good, not as many as the 25th, but that was expected. It was hard being there without my husband and I think I spent more time in my room than at the reunion itself. But there was one good thing that came out of it…

I had one best friend and a few acquaintances throughout my years in school. But in my senior year, a boy moved to our area and was in my senior class. He befriended me, I still don’t know why. He was immediately accepted with the “in” crowd. I was definitely out of that crowd. He took me to a birthday party with that group. He escorted me all day on Senior Skip Day. He made a difference in my life, he made me feel like someone who was worthy. These weren’t dates – just a hand of friendship extended without an expectation of anything in return. He was at the 40th reunion and I got to tell him what his actions had meant to me.

I missed my 50th and my class is planning a 55th next year. Will I attend? Maybe, maybe not…time will tell.