Last Saturday night I entered a time warp of sorts! I (after being inpired by the Carmel Class of 1971)decided to attend my 45 th high school reunion! The last one I attended was about 20 years ago and, at that time, it seemed as though too much time had passed. In the years that followed, life happened--My husband passed away, my children grew up and married, and grandchildren arrived. My job became increasingly demanding. When those invitations to reunions came, it seemed too difficult to drive three hours back to my hometown to re-connect...and of course there were those extra pounds and wrinkles that had not been shed in time.
This past September, though, I was privileged enough to attend the Carmel Class of 1971 reunion. Folks came from many states away and resumed friendships from years gone by--The reunion room was filled with laughter and stories. I was inspired by this gathering and got up the gumption to attend my own reunion. I am so glad that I did!
I grew up in rural Pennsylvania in a more peaceful time. Our community was made up of farmers and small business owners--all hard workers. Many of the parents including mine had not finished high school let alone gone to college. They were the generation of both Depression and war and had learned from "the college of hard knocks"--to quote my Dad. A diligent work ethic was passed from them to us and doing one's best was the norm and expected. We were also expected to do better, reach higher, and achieve more than our parents had been able to do. I realized at the reunion that we had done just that. There were doctors, psychologists, and teachers. There were business owners, authors, and accountants. Though the converstaions often turned to retirement and grandchildren, it was clear that my classmates had led full, busy, and productive lives...and they were still going for more!
There was something in those conversations that evening that kept reminding me of Carmel and it has taken me several days to figure out the common thread. Perhaps love is too strong a word (maybe not) in describing the care that we had one for the other. Even all those years later after way had led to way, there was affection and laughter, and empathy. I think that it was these bonds that allowed us to move on to the adult lives we led. It is these qualities that I beleive we continue to instill in our young people so that they can do the same.
When you think about it, these were the same virtues that our parents shared with us. They are the values that are held dear in families everywhere. Schools, though institutions of learning, are havens for growing too. If that haven allows tentative young people to feel safe, try that which challenges them, accepts them whether they succeed or not, and inspires them to reach higher,then the school becomes "family" in the best sense of the word.
I have spent most of my life in schools like that and understand that I have been blessed many times over. We are challenged to create school communities that continue to invite us back--even decades later--to revel in the family of our school community. We are challenged to be sure that what is remembered is worth coming back! So, Class of 1966--I think we lived up to our parents dreams for us. Now it is up to us to be sure that those dreams are possible for our grandchildren too!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
It's a Sign---REALLY!
Don't you love it when a plan comes together? Isn't it great when the "good guys" win and virtue is rewarded? I am still a sixties girl at heart with some leftover, world changing idealism that comes to the surface from time to time. Every once in a while something whets my imagination and brings back that "We can overcome and do anything" feeling. This wave of inspiration came once again last week from the installation of a sign. I am not talking about any sign. I am talking about an electronic sign that has been installed at the end of our driveway near the soccer field. Each time I drive past it and see it's red letters blinking and the messages rotating, I think of how that sign came to be. So, it is not really the sign that has given rise to my nostalgia and my sense that "good' will triumph, it is a story...a Mt. Carmel story.
For many years it has been the job of the members of the National Honor Society to change the letters on the sign at the end of the drive. The sign, installed in the mid-eighties, had movable letters in a plexiglass case. Over the years, the door to the message board (which opened up and out) had broken. There was a high possibility that when changing the sign, one could get bopped on the head or need to fight with the wind and rain to hold the sign up during the letter changing process. Overall, the signage job was less than glamorous. Last year, the two leaders of the Honor Society (also the two who got the signage job most frequently) came to me and asked if we could get a new sign--a modern sign. I looked at their eager faces and then at our check book and told them "No!" "Signs cost $17,000," I told them, "and there is no money budgeted." They looked back at me,and asked if they could earn it. I said they could try and the story continued.
The National Honor Society leaders whipped up the enthusiasm of the students and they raffled, fundraised, and begged the money for their sign. We ordered it in June and it finally arrived last week. The final act of generosity to make our sign funtional was that of a young family. They read about the sign project at Church, realized we didn't have quite enough money and volunteered to help with the installation. Though the dad worked for a rival sign company, this kind family made the installation happen saving us the last dollars we were short and allowing the task to get done. So, the end of the story may seem to be that the sign has been installed and is working. Though that is quite an accomplishment and a good story, that is not the REAL story. The real story is about persistence and hope. It is that story that is the sign I was looking for last week and it is the one that inspires.
The REAL sign for me is that people, especially kids, can get behind a cause and make change happen. If we believe in our goal and are willing to work hard, the mountainous tasks before us can be conquered. Who would have thought that two seniors could rally a community? Who would have thought that someone with the exact skills needed would read an announcement at the back of Church? Who would have thought that in this age of pessimism and doubt, people would rally in support? I think we all need a sign now and then to remind us that anyting worth while takes work and that good is not always accomplished easily or quickly. Congratulations Ally and Robbie--The sign is blinking away! Thank you Salyers family for your generous help! Three cheers that hope exists in the world--We have the sign to prove it!
For many years it has been the job of the members of the National Honor Society to change the letters on the sign at the end of the drive. The sign, installed in the mid-eighties, had movable letters in a plexiglass case. Over the years, the door to the message board (which opened up and out) had broken. There was a high possibility that when changing the sign, one could get bopped on the head or need to fight with the wind and rain to hold the sign up during the letter changing process. Overall, the signage job was less than glamorous. Last year, the two leaders of the Honor Society (also the two who got the signage job most frequently) came to me and asked if we could get a new sign--a modern sign. I looked at their eager faces and then at our check book and told them "No!" "Signs cost $17,000," I told them, "and there is no money budgeted." They looked back at me,and asked if they could earn it. I said they could try and the story continued.
The National Honor Society leaders whipped up the enthusiasm of the students and they raffled, fundraised, and begged the money for their sign. We ordered it in June and it finally arrived last week. The final act of generosity to make our sign funtional was that of a young family. They read about the sign project at Church, realized we didn't have quite enough money and volunteered to help with the installation. Though the dad worked for a rival sign company, this kind family made the installation happen saving us the last dollars we were short and allowing the task to get done. So, the end of the story may seem to be that the sign has been installed and is working. Though that is quite an accomplishment and a good story, that is not the REAL story. The real story is about persistence and hope. It is that story that is the sign I was looking for last week and it is the one that inspires.
The REAL sign for me is that people, especially kids, can get behind a cause and make change happen. If we believe in our goal and are willing to work hard, the mountainous tasks before us can be conquered. Who would have thought that two seniors could rally a community? Who would have thought that someone with the exact skills needed would read an announcement at the back of Church? Who would have thought that in this age of pessimism and doubt, people would rally in support? I think we all need a sign now and then to remind us that anyting worth while takes work and that good is not always accomplished easily or quickly. Congratulations Ally and Robbie--The sign is blinking away! Thank you Salyers family for your generous help! Three cheers that hope exists in the world--We have the sign to prove it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
