By: Leigh LaBelle-Spence

Nope, this is not a review of WB’s reality TV show ‘High school Reunion’ that I haven’t had time to watch. This is about a certain fascination for high school reunions that my publisher had after I sent her my picture with four of my high school classmates, our class adviser and high school principal who are now all based in Toronto. Yes, our high school principal! What are the odds?  Probably shocked her that it was our 31st year reunion and I still look like I’m barely out of high school. (That’s called Vanity, with a capital “V”)  Anyway, she wanted me to write something about high school reunions for our February issue. So, I thought, why not? Since this is the month when ‘love is in the air’, let’s talk about the sappy, romantic stuff  that always brings a smile to your face as you remember those sweet memories of days gone by when you were young. Of course, I mean YOU, now that you’re forty-something with thinning and graying hair and with your ‘laugh lines’ getting more visible when you smile.  I’m talking to you with a teen-age kid who’d definitely say ‘eeeww’ when she/he learns about your high school romance. Just set your kid’s comment aside now and let this be our time to go down memory lane and think about high school. I am feeling a ‘rush’ just thinking about my own high school days, the best part of my school life – ever!  When you do attend your high school reunion, don’t you usually look for that ‘special classmate’ and wonder how they’d look now and how they’ve been?  Come on, of course, you do.  Isn’t that one of the reasons why you attend your high school reunion? So let’s talk about high school ‘crushes, embarrassing moments, first love, infatuation and your first heartbreak’.  

As I was pounding on my keyboard thinking of high school and this ‘romantic twist’ as I would call it, I stopped and got in touch with a few people in high school to get my story.   I didn’t need to organize my high school reunion to see them.  After all, ‘reunion’ simply means a meeting, a gathering, a get-together.  We did just that - in cyberspace. I like being ‘high tech’.  Thanks to alumni.net and yahoogroups, I was able to connect instantly with some of them via email and chat rooms. It was fun! This may not be a ‘reality show’, and although names are withheld, the messages are real from people in my high school. With my question as to how they were doing now and what romantic memories they remember in high school, here are excerpts from my favorite email and chat room messages written exactly as they sent it:

Classmate no.1 – Now an army Lieutenant Colonel
“Its nice being able to communicate with you again even if only through email.  It evokes pleasant, albeit sometimes embarrassing, memories. I mean, after bashing my head on the pavement and recovering from 4 general anesthesia operations, it has become very hard for me to remember people's names and faces.
 There are just some things though, that you can't forget - like this girl with the sloe eyes (who was great in spelling) whom I kicked on the shin when we were in high school. I believe I did it to avoid being teased for having a crush on her. That memory embarrassed me no end that it prompted me to avoid her in college.”

Classmate no.2- Now a plastic and reconstructive surgeon
“I’m now working as a part time consultant in plastic and reconstructive surgery at (hospital’s name). I’m still maintaining my private clinic in (city) but most of my work now is in (city)”

“Yes, thinking about high school does bring back a lot of very pleasant memories, esp. of (her). Ha ha ha. It always gives me a good laugh whenever I think of how timid I was. How I would just go numb, and how my jaws would lock and my throat would dry up whenever I would get close to (her).  Embarrassing, but cool. It was pure and unadulterated (just like a commodity, huh? - sorry, dont know how else to describe it). It's one of those memories you would want to keep in your memory bank forever.   It's like a movie in my mind that I like to play whenever I'd think of how I was when I was younger.  I still remember the chess games we had in her  house. Oh yeah, I still remember that. I don’t remember exactly how long I stayed but I do know I had fun.”

Classmate no.3- now the Asst. VP of an International Airport (he was planning a trip to where the girl now resides  at the time of this email. He had known this girl since grade school until high school)
“I do remember my first childhood crush and sweetheart--- the gloriously attractive (girl’s name) !!!  “ It would definitely be great to see her. It’s so fun thinking of pleasant thoughts really, when you're getting older by the day.  My memories of her don't stop at grade 2.  We all grew up together and our bonding as classmates through the years is something we can never set aside and something that no one can ever take away from us.”

Classmate no.4 – now a Registered Nurse
”Oh yes, I still remember him. He was my first love but he broke my heart. I found out he was going out with a friend from another high school. We drifted apart after high school. He tried to come back, but I had already moved on.”

Classmate no.5-now a college professor
“How could I forget him?  He was my first heartache when he dumped me for the new girl in high school. That really hurt but that was my first lesson on ‘getting over’ a lost love. I’ve been stronger ever since and I’ve learned at a young age the reality that relationships are not forever.

Classmates no.6 –now working in Foreign Service
”You know what’s sad? I never got to tell him that I liked him back in high school. We just remained friends. To this day, I still wonder how it would have been. We did see each other a few times, but he’s now married with kids and I’m just happy for him. I don’t think marriage is for me. I’m such a free spirit.

Classmate no.7-now a business owner
“Yeah, I know we were the high school ‘love team’. I knew you guys were hoping we’d end up together and we too, thought we’d end up married to each other. Things just happened and we just lost touch with each other. He’s moved on and so have I.  It’s just one of those things that are not ‘meant to be’.

These are my high school friends and their romantic memories of high school – of first loves, first heartaches, love that never was, love unspoken and love that was never meant to be. Yet, they still have a special place in our hearts and in our minds. Okay, I admit, one of those classmates’ messages was meant for me and it does make me smile every time I think about it, but then, that remains a memory etched between the pages of my mind. Now, as I put the final changes to this article, I glance at the person I have vowed to spend the rest of my life with as he sits there engrossed watching a Raptors game.  No, he’s not from my class and the memories we’ve made go way beyond high school. He may be more into watching sports on ESPN or Raptors TV and doesn’t say ‘I love you’ as much as I want him to, but after being together for 30 years, I am secure in the thought that he really loves me. I can see myself growing old with him. (really!)  We may just be holding hands when that time comes, just content with each other’s presence as we perhaps watch an old concert of James Taylor’s ‘One Man Band” (his favorite). I ended up with him after high school and this is forever. High school romance, let’s keep that a memory.

Happy Valentine’s day y’all!