I am back from my 20-year class reunion. What an interesting weekend.
On Saturday we drove down to Ohio. We had to stop at my dad's house to drop off Matthew because Saturday evening's event was just for the grown-ups. I am not sure who was more excited, Matthew or my dad. It's been a few months since we saw my dad (a little longer than usual). Matthew had been pretty much constantly excited about seeing his grandpa for a few days.
We visited with dad for a bit and then headed downtown.
When we first got there, we parked and started walking towards the Huron Yacht Club (location of the reunion event). On the way, I saw these three girls at a bit of a distance who looked vaguely familiar. I didn't want to look stupid - although I do it often enough - so I didn't walk over to them. However, I overheard them talking and realized it was who I thought it was.
They started walking towards us and we started talking. Once we were all standing there, I had this thought run through my mind, do I look that much older, too? It wasn't that they looked old, but they looked older. If you have ever had one of these moments you know what I mean. I had seen myself grow older one day at a time over the last 20 years. I hadn't seen many of these people in 10 or 20 years. And so here they are, all grown up, not far from the big 40. I think it was one of the first times I really thought about how old I am.
So after a few minutes of talking we walked into a bar nearby where everyone is waiting for things to start. We had about 30 minutes until the yacht club would be ready for us. It was a surreal experience. Suddenly I was standing in the midst of a few dozen friends, many of whom I had not seen in a long time. My first considerable conversation was with Greg. Greg was one of my better friends, especially in my younger years. Greg was on my bus route and we had played together often. Greg was now married with two young children. The most compelling part of Greg's story was the heart attack he had suffered last year. He talked about that whole experience and how it impacted his life. He had to change his diet, stop smoking, and just live a little smarter.
After we got to the yacht club, I connected with a bunch of people. The two couples we spent the most time with were Dan and his wife and Steve and his wife. Dan and Steve were two of the guys I spent a lot of time with in high school. Dan grew up a few houses down the street from me and Steve played tuba with me in marching band. Neither of them had really changed that much. Dan was still the gregarious guy who always had a funny comment to make. Steve was the more reserved type. The six of us spent quite a bit of time sitting at a table and catching up.
Among others, I was also able to talk with Shane, who is now a lawyer, and Kim, who is an executive with a non-profit organization that helps parents of young children. Kristin, whose brother now works with my sister-in-law, was there as well. There were a lot of people who I was able to interact with and connect with as well throughout the evening.
I was also able to connect with Mari for part of the evening. Mari was the main organizer of the event. She did a great job, especially considering how she did it at the last minute. No one else had stepped up, so she grabbed the reins and put something good together.
Mari is a Christian and we have had good conversations via email about our faith. It was really cool on Saturday night to sit down with Mari for a little while and talk about faith and the like. It was weird though. Here I am, the guy who was the atheist/agnostic in high school, and now I am a youth minister talking about God.
Saturday night ended with a nice surprise. There was a great fireworks show down in the boat basin that we were able to watch. The fireworks were almost literally right above us. We had great seats, and of the three fireworks shows I saw this past week, this one had the best grand finale.
On Sunday the fun continued. Sunday morning we attended worship in Amherst, Ohio. This is the first church where I served in full-time ministry. From 1999 until 2002, I was the Youth & Family Minister there. It was so good to see some people I had not seen in years. Their pulpit minister recently announced he was leaving and several of the people there wanted to know if I was coming back. While I love the people in Amherst and really miss them, I know that God has me where He needs me in Rochester.
Sunday afternoon we headed off to the family picnic portion of the reunion weekend. There were not a lot of people there, but in some ways that was really nice. I was able to have some good conversations with a few people. Chris, who still lives in the area, filled me in on his life. I was able to hear some really entertaining construction stories from Chuck, who works with his family business and brought his two sons with him. Ingrid, who is also friends with Michelle, was there as well with her family. She and Michelle talked for a long time. And Mari and her husband were there with their two children. Matthew made some new friends and had a blast. He was pretty excited that he has friends from the Seattle area now.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this reunion. It brings back memories and feelings from long ago. It is an odd experience to talk with people who were so important in your life 20 years ago. So much has changed in twenty years. Some of them have been married and divorced. Many have children. There were some people who have come to faith. Others have left their faith. At least one flirted with death. Some have changed a lot and others very little.
I was reminded this weekend to make the most of every minute, but never take life too seriously. There were girls there this weekend who I was nervous every time I was around them in school because I liked them. I look back and wonder why I was so silly. Why did I let that affect me so much?
At the same time, I heard positive comments about how people viewed me back then. Things like a smile and a kind word are the things that stick. No one told me they remembered my fine tuba-playing skills or that I was president of the photography club. No one brought up who I dated or how I dressed. But several people commented that they thought I was one of the nicest people they remembered from high school and that I always seemed to have a smile on my face.
If that is what people remember twenty years later, maybe those are the kinds of things we should all focus on in our lives.
shine!
Jason
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