This is the time of year for reunions. Family reunions and high school reunions are celebrated nearly every weekend in Aroostook County, as we grab on to the beauty of summer and take advantage of vacationing relatives and old friends. I graduated from Caribou High School in 1974 and though I attended my 20th class reunion, I was not present at the 30th. I do not plan on missing the 40th, however, an event that will take place in just two more years.
How I agonized over choosing a dress for that 20th reunion! I should have chosen a simple black dress and pearls. Instead, I found myself nervously pulling at a long, grass-green tunic and multi-colored, flimsy gauze skirt that touched the floor and threatened to trip me with every hesitant step I took.
Hugs and cheek kisses were abundant that evening. I suppose we sort of sized each other up; deciding immediately if the passage of 20 years had been friend or foe. Some of us had blossomed; blessed with success and prosperity. Others held out our slashed dreams before us; apologetic and consumed with regret. We were doctors and lawyers and teachers and nurses. We were mothers and wives and fathers and husbands. Some of us maintained our youthful beauty, while others succumbed to age and worry and life. We all shared a common thread, however. We were the graduating class of 1974 and most of us had known each other from the very beginning.
Regardless of the paths we have chosen, there is a bond between classmates that never loses its punch. As we gather in celebration, I believe we are transported back in time to the days of vulnerability, innocence, and camaraderie. Beneath the guise of adulthood, success and responsibility, we protect that eternal child.
Most of us do not go unscathed from our school days. We have all experienced rejection, heartbreak and the crush of peer pressure. For this one night, however, we forgive the consequences of humanity.
When the event was over, I could not help but wonder just when we would see each other again. Would we save those phone numbers we had exchanged or would the desire to rekindle old flames be swallowed up in the routine of our lives? Many of us saw each other frequently; in the grocery store or at the dentist’s office. We would promise to get together and have lunch soon, yet here we were; waving at each other from across the room or nodding at each other like polite strangers.
At our next gathering, some of us may be grandparents or working diligently on a second or third marriage. We may find some of our classmates appearing in photos because they have lost a battle with cancer or heart disease or some other horrific malady that burrows its way into our lives far too soon. Regardless of the outward changes, we will always be Caribou High School’s Class of 1974. Imagine!
Editor’s Note: Belinda Wilcox Ouellette lives in Connor TWP with her husband Dale and their Goldendoodle Barney. You may contact Belinda online at: dbwouellette@maine.rr.com.
