L-R CHUCHI, MALU (ME), CELIA, LOLITA (MIDDLE), CECILLE, GRACE, & DITAS
MARYLOU B. GARCIA
I’ve always wondered about the difference between reunions and reunited, besides being a matter of noun and verb—-to mean coming together again. Second guessing, reunited connotatively is one of reconciliation, whereas reunions have something to do with the renewal of connectedness between old and new memories.
I flew to the Philippines for my 20th anniversary Maryknoll High School reunion to meet up with my former classmates at the penthouse of a wealthy classmate. We tried to recognize each other from our yearbook photos, feasted on an array of delicious food, and then took a trip to the islands to snorkel and view the underwater live multicolored corals.
A family reunion in Gold Rush Angel’s Camp was so fun with a lot of eating and swimming, coincidentally with our grandson Maxwell’s third birthday on the eve of Easter, only to be marred by an emergency when another grandson Zach ate pistachio nut ice cream allergic reaction, had to be rushed to the nearest hospital to save his life.
Fred was turning 90 on April 4th, and my niece decided to organize a family reunion in Austin, TX, to fete her dad and all other cousins turning 50. We reserved a small cabin and one bathroom for a shocking pricey fee of $599 a day. No turning back. One of our nephews rented the biggest cabin, which became the hub for us to eat some meals if we weren’t meeting at a restaurant in the city. We hung out on the porch till 1 or 3 in the morning, in a tree house, or over roasted marshmallows on a bonfire. It was a great opportunity to get to know each other more intimately and laugh over untold, funny family secrets. The highlight was witnessing the solar eclipse at our niece’s home with our solar glasses and the hair-raising experience of night darkness.
April 16th, Ed decided to attend his 60th Ateneo high school reunion in Vegas. I went to please him. I had no expectations whatsoever but decided to contact old friends who had relocated to Vegas. Each invited us to their homes for home-cooked meals with lots of reminiscences, especially when we took their advice to drive 17 miles past the strip: The Grand Rock Canyon …stunning natural wonder! We brought home what happened in Vegas as new memories. So worthwhile. Understatement.
Attending reunions is best with the least expectations. You don’t wait for a schedule that could disappoint—you make your own.
CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN A REUNION IN HEAVEN.
This reunion we cannot schedule, but in faith, we can look forward to a great reunion, what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”