This was the year of reunions for me:
- 15 year grad school reunion
- 20 year high school reunion
- Grandma's 90th birthday family reunion
I figured if I was already doing all that reunioning, I should also try and gather my elementary classmates.
"That's weird!" I was told by some. "I love that!" I was told by others.
But, in my defense, this would not be the first of these reunions - and I was with essentially the same students from 3rd-6th grade. Several people I also went to Junior High and/or High School with.
The last time I remember gathering everyone was in 2008, so it had been a long time. I now use a different email address, and the few contacts I had from then were not promising, so we went back to the drawing board.
I pulled out my year books - and I made a spreadsheet with everyone who was listed in each class including which grades they were there for. First off, I realized my prior memory that it was "the same class 3rd-6th grade" was only partially true. But there was a lot of consistency, and I started tracking people down with the help of others from my program.
Facebook was a good starting ground, but many people either were not on there, or are not actively using Facebook these days.
So, we turned to the White Pages.
I created a little flyer that we could leave with people and off we drove - arriving at the first potential house just after our classmate returned home with her family from visiting grandparents. It was so cool to see her and recognize her even after almost 30 years. Plus, her daughter looks so much like she did at her age! While she was going to be out of the country, and thus unable to attend, it was still great to catch up and hear about her travel plans as well as get some new leads for some of our classmates and teachers she was aware of.
The second house no one was home, so we left a flyer and crossed our fingers.
Out of time that day, we split up assignments and the next day I drove up to Eden to an address we were pretty confident about (no one was home, but I got smarter and put a name on this flyer!) then back down to Clearfield (the address was directing us to the middle of two roads, not a house - sigh.)
Then to the house of our 5th grade teacher (also no one home, but I was smart enough to put her name AND the year we had her as a teacher, which turned out to be extra helpful!).
The last house was also a success - I was able to hand deliver the invitation and briefly chat. What I failed to ask was if she ever got to go on her trip to see penguins, I have wondered this off and on for over 20 years.
The following day we paired up again and drove to an updated address while doing more internet sleuthing.
Google searches took me to LinkedIn (why didn't I think of that!?!) and I found a couple more people that way - now comes the question: Creepy or not creepy?
I called the place of business of one of my classmates (according to LinkedIn) and asked for him by name. The person who answered said "He's not in right now, I'll transfer you to his voicemail" and before I could say anything else, I was being transferred. So, I left a voicemail.
Telling a friend about this, she said "tell me you did not call..." just as I said "...so I called"
Her response made me second guess my choice - however, the next day I got a Facebook message from this classmate - who wanted to join, but already had family obligations on the appointed date. Next time!
And, I was reminded that the answer to many questions {at least in my experience!} depends on a) who you ask and b) who is doing the thing in question
At the final door we showed up to, a man answered the door, we said we were looking for our friend. "That's my wife," he said, "she's sleeping."
My brain said 'Oh no, maybe this is not the woman we are looking for, perhaps she has the same name as our friend because she married someone with that last name...'
As my brain thought that, my friend with me at the door said "Oh good, we're so glad we found her!"
We handed over the invitation flyer, said we'd love them to join, and asked if his wife could send us an update even if they couldn't make it. Then in the car, we realized we may never know if we found the right person or not.
Sleuthing doesn't always lead to success, sometimes you still have loose ends!
However, the biggest bummer was finding out that our 6th grade teacher is now in a care facility dealing with dementia. But, her daughter said she likes to receive cards and that sometimes she responds well to visits, so we'll reach out and hopefully add some joy through connection.
Fast forward to the big day: We had four of us + our 5th grade teacher show up, which was a blast!
And this is where writing the date on the invitation came in clutch - before coming, she dug through her old photos from 1996-97 and found pictures of us doing various projects and experiences from State Presentations to History Fairs to Colonial Days
We had a potluck dinner and ate on some picnic tables right by the school - new since our day! And looking around at this place - so familiar, and yet also considerably changed - brought back so many memories.
So fun to meet spouses and children.
So fun to be back at the school!
A few people who were not able to come sent along some updates on current life comings and goings as well as some typed up memories from our time in Spectrum. It was so fun to hear other people's memories, brought back so many more of my own.
As one of my elementary pals said, "Those were such formative years for us"
Indeed they were!
We just chatted and laughed and time flew by until we realized how late it had gotten and all had to go our separate ways. Before driving away, I decided I had to go see the front of the school. Turns out, I wasn't the only one who felt that way, so I got one final picture in front
Time for a little more sleuthing in preparation for next time...
PS We did make it over to see our 6th grade teacher in her memory care unit.
It was beautiful and hard to see her. She was so happy to see a baby, and also us ;) Not sure if she was really thinking of me, but she did say "Nicole Smith," perhaps reading my name badge, "she comes to school sometimes."
And when she told us she didn't remember something we had just talked about, we told her "We'll remember for you."
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