40

Actually that number should be 42 to reflect the number of years it's been since I last saw the people with whom I'll be spending most of this weekend. That's a long time! When I moved away from Medfield, Massachusetts in the summer of 1966, I thought people who'd been my friends would continue to communicate with me because they'd miss me so much. A few of us exchanged phone calls and then we all moved forward with our lives, and all this time I've assumed that my connection with the boys and girls - now men and women - with whom I'd gone through grade school, junior high, and two years of high school was gone except for three moldy yearbooks I had tucked away in boxes. I was wrong.

Some months ago, Gayle, one of my classmates and the host of some of our summer evening get-togethers, searched for and found me via the internet, and she let me know that I had not, indeed, been forgotten. As a result I'll be going to the MHS Class of 1968 40-year reunion this weekend. Of course I'll bring my yearbooks because that's What You Do when you attend one of these events and see your classmates for the first time in ages. Another nice thing that's occurred as the weekend has approached is the renewed communications among the classmates. Not everyone is on Classmates.com, so it's nice to be back in touch with some of the people so much a part of my first 16 years. While the ones who've shared photos do look different, the essential person I knew well so many years ago is still there, and as I'd found with the class I graduated with in Westborough, the concern for social position and all that teenage stuff is dead and gone.

I'll be going to a local craft fair Saturday morning and spending a little time with Sis3 who'll keep me company there. Then I'm off to Medfield. Dinner and reminiscing Saturday night and brunch with the ones who care to join us Sunday morning will be fascinating experiences. (Yes, the camera will travel with me, so some photos in this space may appear early next week.)