Um Ya Ya Reunion!!

Over Commencement Weekend at St. Olaf College (Memorial Day weekend), we celebrated a big reunion!

I have to say that in my mind I was approaching the whole event with a little bit of trepidation, thinking to myself: What have I accomplished in these 20+ years? How have I contributed to the world, the state, my community, my family, my chosen industry? Will people remember me? Will my "buddies" attend so that we can connect? Will the food be good? What should I wear?

Well, as soon as I arrived (went with my friend A.) and started to "mingle", gosh, it really didn't matter! So nice to see a familiar face, catch up briefly, see another friend, hug/greet/chat, and so on! Surprise to me, as I really didn't think about this beforehand, how many people brought their children, a few young kids, but mostly around high school age, and some current Oles as well. The children that I met were very friendly and in fact delightful -- a wonderful reflection on their parents.

President Anderson spoke briefly, providing some fun facts about current college life. The scariest thing for me is the daunting tuition now = $38,000. How can I ever afford this, that is, if my kids are interested in attending St. Olaf? Ah yes, will just keep saving, I guess.

We had a wonderful speaker, who talked about connecting. It struck me how appreciative he is for the opportunity to have a college education and to serve his family well. And, as CIO of a major corporation, he has! and is serving his own family and acting as a fantastic role model for his 4 children.

A highlight for me was a song created for the reunion and performed by one of our classmates, called "What Does 25 Mean?" It was quite beautiful!! Note to J.F. -- Please keep me in the loop when/if there is a digital version, as I'd love to download it.

After our class photo in the Chapel, most people stayed and talked even more, nice! Here are a few of us:

After a productive trip to the bookstore, we just had one more stop before heading home. My friend A's whole family is buried at the local cemetery in Northfield, so we stopped there for a quiet tribute and more remembrances.

What a fantastic day. It left me with the feeling...why don't I connect with my college classmates and friends more often?