This year sentimentality, along with some major family events, has tempted me to contact  some old friends – as in past school friends from quite a few decades ago – I don’t think of any of them as “old” in terms of age. These are people with whom I’d been really close to at school. Good friends, buddies through the challenging teen years – but over the decades we’d grown apart, more through individual circumstances rather than by choice.

Facebook has been a great medium for finding and contacting people and I’m hopefully at the cusp of rebuilding some very valued relationships. We’ve all been through lots of life changes – many challenging – but all seem to be there for each other again. So far, most  have been amazing with their genuine delight at being contacted. A few old friends are still MIA, but I understand that many may rarely look at their pages and possibly not recognise aged faces and changed names this far down the track – I’m hoping it’s not a matter of “Oh no, not her. I hoped I’d lost her decades ago!”

Anyway, for some of my old buds, it’s like we’ve just caught up a year after high school – funny how decades on they still seem exactly the same. Anyway, in a year when I’ve needed it, there have been some wry smiles at memories, the odd sentimental tear, a few choked snickers and lots of outright belly laughs at some of the memories that are coming out – all on Facebook – as we are all well scattered geographically now.

My parents had saved some old high school photos and Facebook has been a great medium for posting these, chatting and sharing. The photos themselves are just catalysts for memories and stories, which keep building and communities that keep expanding.

Next year is our 40th school reunion. I went to our 10th and find it hard to believe it could possibly have been this long ago, particularly after talking to the grils – there must be a time warp and we’re barely back to our 10th again??

Anyway, I’m having lots of fun chatting to old besties, making contact with those I liked and knew, even if not be besties, and linking in with people from school I never had a chance to know well but I’m sure were great people. Whilst difficult years, we were very supportive of each other and shared and grew so much together.

Forty years on, and we’re finding so much has changed yet so much still stays the same, even if we are mainly communicating online. Hopefully the best has remained and the changes have also been to our advantage. Anyway, I’m optimistic that many of us will now make the effort to remain in close communication and hoping we have many more laughs ahead of us. Some personal meet ups would be the icing on the cake!