Posts Tagged: thief river falls

Summer Reunions

Christy and Aiden in front of Thief River Falls sign

Christy and Aiden in front of Thief River Falls sign

As school resumes preschool through college, I am anticipating getting into substitute teaching.

I’m also looking back on our road trip to Thief River Falls, Minnesota, for an all- school reunion. I have never been back for any of my class reunions and next year marks 40 years since I graduated. UGH!

This gathering afforded a great opportunity to drag my husband to my hometown to meet some old pals. I had plenty of friends in high school, but most of them graduated before me and I only hung out with two girlfriends in my grade.

Classmates in stadium

I hoped to connect with others from my year and maybe begin as adults. I sat expectantly at my grade level table. I walked around and searched nametags, hoping to find more from my year. I found a neighbor I grew up with.

Christy with neighbor

But as pictures were taken by decade and then singled out into years, our class had a dismal showing of only 11, compared to older classes with enough members to pack a grandstand. The older groups seemed to have stayed in touch, as they were hugging, laughing and having a great time.

The few from ’83 invited my BFF and me to the VFW to hang out and have dinner, but when we arrived, they were nowhere to be found, so we sat with our older friends.

When I got up, who should be sitting behind us in the darkened and noisy room but our classmates. My bubble of hope burst with disappointment. They were just inches away. Some things never change.

Christy and BFF

My BFF reminded me our class never had connections like the ones I was witnessing from the older graduates. Yes, we are adults, but sometimes as the parade of time marches on, there are still others sitting on the sidewalks, watching it pass them by.

Meeting My Second Grade Teacher

Christy and Aiden in front of Lincoln High School

If you’ve visited the “About Christy” page of my website or read my blog post, “The Birth of a Book,” you know I give my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Olson, credit for inspiring me to become a writer.

A year ago, I inquired about her to a reporter at my hometown’s newspaper, the Thief River Falls Times. That wonderful reporter knew who I was talking about and connected me with Mrs. Olson.

Mrs. Olson and I talked on the phone a couple of times, but the excitement grew as I told her of our trip to Minnesota.

I told her I would love to speak to students where my dad taught school and she went to work.

Soon, I was in contact with not only the principal of Challenger Elementary, but also a communications teacher at Franklin Junior High, where I went to school. He arranged a book signing at Diamonds and Designs, where Mrs. Olson volunteers.

I enjoyed every minute of my book tour, but the best moment I had was having dinner with Mrs. Susan Olson. I didn’t know what to call her, respectfully, since the entire town knows her as “Susie.” I settled on calling her Miss Susie.

We talked like old friends and had so much in common, down to our taste in clothing! I’m forever grateful to Miss Susie!