Dale & Ellen Jane attended a mini-reunion with a number of their high school friends. They tried to remember if this was the 9th or the 10th year the group has been getting together like this, but somewhere thereabouts. This year the weather cooperated and the beach provided a scenic backdrop to tell stories, reminisce, and catch up with everyone. The group varies a bit from year to year with someone showing up that's never been before (or at least not in many, many years), but generally there are about 25 to 30 people that gather for the weekend.
Dale pulled out the old yearbooks and was startled to see how young the teachers looked back then. He remembered some of them being very old, but now Dale is older than the age that most of them were when he and Ellen Jane were in high school. Dale flipped through to find the picture of the football team -- he was Captain their senior year. (Funny, but he thought he was bigger than that then!)
Ellen Jane sat next to Dale and picked up one of the other yearbooks. She found the pictures from the Class Favorites section. She and Dale had always been voted Most Popular every year in high school. Those hairstyles -- what were they thinking!! As she flipped through the pictures of the faces looking back at her, she thought of all the hopes and dreams. Who would have thought this group would turn out the way it did? They had an opera star, an advertising executive, a few lawyers, a dentist, an air force officer, a successful Nashville musician, too many CPAs to count, and loads of teachers, entrepreneurs and family business owners.
Finally Ellen Jane reached the last page of the yearbook she was studying. Although she performed the ritual every year, for the first time something struck her. This one was inscribed, just as most yearbooks have been signed by friends to the owner. On the very last page this particular yearbook held dedications from Brenda, Debi, and Mary Beth. As she read them the lump in her throat only got larger when she turned the page back to see who had signed right before, only to see Bubba's handwritten words all those years before.
Ellen Jane's friends could see she was a bit shaken and asked what was up. She couldn't answer and only pointed. Darlene slid the book over to read. Immediately her eyes filled with tears. Debi had been her roommate in college. They all attended her funeral three years ago following a horrible car accident. Debi had always been the life of the party, and her spirit still was part of the reunion, even now. Mary Beth had been gone the longest. The doctors had said what happened to her was a one-in-a-million chance, an aneurysm. That was twenty years ago. Ellen Jane had known her since kindergarten. It was five years ago that Bubba died. Leukemia took him, although technically it was an infection because of his weakened immune system following chemotherapy. Brenda had been the most recent loss -- just a few months ago -- also from cancer. She fought valiantly for years.
Ellen Jane looked at Darlene and said, Now you see why we do this each year? All we really have is each other. It's about the connection. So they got Dale and Kathy and LuAnn and Bobby and drank a toast to all of their friends -- present in body or spirit.
Then Darlene read all of Dale and Ellen Jane's letters and cards she had received over the years as they had traveled the country. Debi had especially enjoyed that part every year. Everyone else continued their poker game, storytelling, or whatever else until the group dwindled until the last one said goodnight -- and finally goodbye until next year.
Same place, same weekend in 2012. Love you guys!
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