The first Sunday of June, St. Paul Lutheran School in Janesville had their first all-school reunion.
They invited all alumni - 2,000 or so from 150 years of teaching children how to read, write, do math, and learn about Jesus.
Because of Facebook, I've renewed contact with a number of classmates I grew up with from Kindergarten through 9th grade.
A lot of life happens in the nearly 40 years since our 9th grade graduation. Some of those classmates are grandparents; others are close to retirement (good for them!); many are still working; and a few are still raising kids of their own.
At the reunion, I didn't get to hear any of those stories from my classmates since I was the only representative of the Class of 1978.
My former next door neighbor was there who graduated in 1977 and it was fun catching up with her and wondering where her 4 siblings were. A student from the Class of 1981 was there and each of us had mental snapshots of memories of each other - our paths didn't cross much because in grade school 3 years seem like a lifetime!
Just in case you wanted to know - there were 23 of us who graduated in 1978 from St. Paul's. Most of us were together all 10 years and the rest we welcomed along the way. It was great to re-unite with 4 former teachers (3rd grade, and three others who I had for various classes in grades 6 - 9.)
It makes sense reunions might skew a bit older for those in attendance. More time and more interest to see what happened and swap stories that only mean something to someone else who had been there. Even in our 50s, my peers are working or busy with families. The younger generations live even more hectic lives right now, or have clear enough memories and not feel the need to seek out their friends from "back in the day."
Lutheran education was very good for me. It made a big difference when I made the transition to the public high school and I was ready for the next level of academics. It also continues to be an influence as the teachers and environment made a life-long impact on who I am and want to be.
You and I may not be able to go home again, as Thomas Wolfe wrote, but it can be quite fun to walk down a rose-color memory lane from time to time.
It's an opportunity to talk about former classes or moments of wonder with never having to say, "I guess you had to be there."
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