Looking back…

I have a 40th high school reunion coming up in a few weeks, rescheduled from last October, so it’s been on my mind for a while now. I’ve submitted the requested photos for the slideshow and have tried to keep up with posts in the Facebook group. I even got to meet with my friend Sandi earlier this month, who will also be at the reunion, and we enjoyed taking a few practice steps down memory lane.

Since I haven’t kept in touch with very many people from that time, I really do need to find my yearbooks to get my brain cells firing. As I have always been a future-focused person, the past has a way of fading more quickly for me than I would like. I’m sure that I had more fun than I can now remember, and I can’t wait to be reminded of that fact.

An unexpected bonus, however, resulted after I commented on a post in the FB group, where Lori mentioned her early life, the street where her parents still live, etc. I responded because we had grown up only a couple of blocks away from each other and had gone to the same elementary school, where my dad “Mr. T” happened to be her sixth grade teacher. (Yes, my dad was a teacher at my school. One of the best perks was that I was never without ice cream money!)

This bonus is extra special to me because in our back and forth Lori shared a memory about my dad. This is what she said:

Hi Lisa, Your father was one of my very favorite teachers and humans. I still laugh at the memory of him having me perform a funeral service as I buried my gum with the entire class in attendance. I didn’t chew gum in class after that!

I was so touched by this little anecdote that I asked others in the group who might also have stories about my dad to please find me at the reunion and share them. He impacted so many families through the years, even teaching the children of former students!

My father passed away in 2004, so I feel very lucky that I will soon have the opportunity to gather up some memories of him along with those from my high school days.

Looking forward to looking back…