Those Were the Days, My Friend...

A couple of years ago, I accompanied my mother to her high school class reunion – Class of 1958 – I’m thinking it was maybe in 2013?? So that would have been her 55th Reunion.  I do have to point out that I haven’t bothered to attend any of my OWN high school reunions, but…. 

The whole event was more memorable for me because we spent the night in what is now a bed and breakfast, but what used to be the hotel owned and operated by my grandparents.  My mother and her sisters grew up there.  Pretty neat!

All of that is irrelevant to today’s point.  Mom reconnected at that reunion with a couple of her close friends from high school.  So this past weekend, a couple of years later, I drove her down to Paducah, Kentucky, where one of them (Alma Jean) lives.  The other one (Norma) lives somewhere in Tennessee and she drove up to Paducah, it being in the middle.

When we got there, Alma Jean sat us down to a veritable smorgasbord of food.  She said she’d fix one thing and then think, “Well, what if they don’t like that?” and then she’d fix something else!  The thing is, there were only four of us!!





I found it very eye-opening to sit there and watch my mother interact with these women.  I liken it to my interactions with my girlfriends.  Years ago, there were a handful of girls (we’ll always be girls) from the Wadesville Church that would get together for food and friendship.  We called ourselves the “Cluck” – if memory serves, it was in response to someone making an overly sexist comment about us having a hen party, but I could be making that up.  It has been many years since we had a Cluck party, but I remember clearly sitting there laughing so much it would make my face hurt.

Back to Mom’s party, I sat there watching these “girls” and I could see me and my friends in them.  Honestly, I’d worried (because of all the things I’m good at, that’s what I do best) that when they got together, it would be awkward and they wouldn’t have anything to talk about.  Of course I shouldn’t have worried.  I know from experience that when true friends get together after a long separation, they pick up exactly where they left off, without any effort.

As I sat there listening to them giggling and excitedly talking over each other (“I dated him.” “No!” “Really!?”), I had to remind myself that these three girls were women in their mid-70’s!

The time flew and it was 5pm before we knew it.  Before breaking up and hitting the road to go back to our respective homes, we pottied down.  I only mention this because the bathroom I used was the biggest bathroom I've ever seen.  I honestly think it is bigger than Mom's bedroom!

As we left, Molly, Alma Jean's dog, was very pleased to see the backs of us, having spent a rather uneasy afternoon by her mama's side with the three strangers in her house.

 

On the way home, Mom asked me if I'd had a good time and I honestly told her that I did.  It's good to be reminded that your parents are people too.  And as the difference between my physical age and my mental age increases, I feel less weird knowing that deep inside, my mother is still that teenage girl!

 

Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days

-          Boris Fomin and Gene Raskin