This past weekend I made the trip back to my hometown of Neodesha, Kansas for my 40th high school reunion. I know it doesn’t seem possible, but I was a 17 year-old high school senior in 1972.
Yes, there were 72 students in our Class of ‘72. The Standard Oil refinery was closed down our sophomore year sending families to Illinois and Texas. David Lesco was one of my friends who moved away. It was good to see him again and listen to parts of the story I seemed to have forgotten.
Jean O ‘Leary Labrie sends out birthday reminder emails for our class. Each time, without fail, when I read the message: “Congratulations to _______, she turns 58 on May 25th.” I think, “Wow, she’s getting older”… and then I remember.
Time Together Again
This idea of coming together again after a time of separation plays a valuable role in the journey and our rituals of life. A reunion reunites us with the people in our Story. There are at least four benefits of “reunions” – they help us …
- Create Space – the speed of life pushes hard, if we’re not mindful and intentional we’ll end up at the finish line and forget how we got there
- Remember – the people of influence, the stories, the moments… cultivating our gratitude and appreciation
- Celebrate – both the good and harder times; it’s all part of the Story
- Re-connect – we can pick up where we left off with people we know, with those in our Story; re-connecting is good
Whether coming together with one person or a group, reuniting is good for the soul. While it takes some effort, the reward is worth the investment.
Life is …
In my brief comments at dinner Saturday evening, I reminded my friends of our class motto: “Life is what you make it.” Few, if any of us could have imagined where we would be in the Life Story 40 years later.
Yes, reuniting Neodesha High School’s Class of ’72 required a good bit of effort. Those who attended made a commitment to come; I remain grateful for the time together.
Every person added to the Story …my Story and our Story. Indeed, my leadership development was furthered along in my high school years.
You may not be assigned to pull your high school class together or your family this summer, but you can reunite with someone this week. Who can you re-connect with for lunch or coffee? Who might you send a random note to (paper, email or text)? Who could you call?
Who will you re-unite with this week?
The business of life is people. Enjoy the reunion.
Please forward to a friend or colleague.
Pick up your copy of my new book:
THE PEOPLE PROJECT:
Your Guide to Changing Behavior and Growing Your Influence as a Leader
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