Reunions & Communication Styles

 My high school doesn’t do specific reunions. We were a secondary school with 250 students in six grades. My graduating class was 32 people. And you were just as likely to be friend with kids 2-3 years ahead and behind you because we had fully mixed classes. Instead, we do anniversaries. This year was the 50^th anniversary of Steller Alternative and we celebrated in September. (Yes, I’ve been very lax about blogging).

 

There were no big aha moments for me at the event. For one thing, I live in the town I graduated in. Many people I see around and about, or hear about through the gossip network. People who have moved out of state often still have parents and siblings living here, and the same situation occurs. There are certainly some friendships that have been lost, and some people who have disappeared who I would love to hear from again. But by and large, it was just a nice hangout. Except I caught a cold and missed out on the dance. Darnit.

 

But it led to some interesting conversations with an old friend about the nature of friendships. Which led me to tell them that sometimes friendships just expire. Sometimes they circle back around. Sometimes we drop the ball and don’t reach out. Sometimes you aren’t reaching out in a way that people accept. And people aren’t always clear about what they need. You can guess….or you can be me and just ask what works for them.

 

In my world: LH prefers texts, HH likes emails, SS prefers Signal, and BH likes handwritten letters, JA likes letters but accepts typed and printed, and has changed to texts now that she’s moved. BS and SE prefer scheduled phone calls, and are both on a biweekly rotation. HH and CM both like scheduled phone calls too, but planned one week ahead only. Dad always wants it to be FaceTime video. And my SIL likes to be sent photos.

 

And then there’s me: I refuse to use WhatsApp.

 

(Also, B and I have a shared calendar so he knows when I’ll be chattering away and can plan accordingly. We both had sound canceling headphones).

 

I suppose this is on my mind because we are planning another winter of travel and it is important to me to stay in touch. Somehow. And recognizing that not everyone wants to read this blog! But in the end, I’d rather be defined by my friendships than my work history, so this is where I’ll spend my energy.

~Lucy