In Ketchikan, high school class reunions are held over the weekend of the Fourth. Each reunion class has a float in the parade and different activities all week long. This system is pretty brilliant when you think about it. Everyone knows when the Fourth is. Everyone knows how long ago they graduated… 10 years, 20. 30. etc. No tracking folks down. No announcements in the newspaper or on social media. No phone trees. No angst about picking the date. The work is all done – no communication is required.

That said, there ARE details to hammer out… Float theme. Decorations. Money collection for dinners and reservations need to be made. Whoever lives in town secures a space to meet/party/picnic/decorate the float. But all in all, it is a wonderful system that I wish my school would adopt.

I should go on the record and state that I have NEVER attended my high school reunion. I went to a couple different high schools. The one I actually graduated from I only went to for two years and did not feel connected, (although I did make wonderful friends I would love to reunite with). I considered going, BUT once the reunion was in June. I was too pregnant to attend, another time it was in late August, school had started early here, so I didn’t attend. Celebrating just wasn’t a priority.

Scott, on the other hand, attended his. Homecoming prince, class president and all, he was (and still is) VERY connected with a lot of high school friends. He has shared with me that there is no comparison between Ketchikan and a typical high school reunion. For example, when the classes begin to show up in Ketchikan, the bars fill up. And I don’t think it matters if it is your 10th or your 50th – you go to the bars. Not so much in Anchorage. I mean small groups – Scott and his friends might arrange to get a beer somewhere, but there is not this mass group roaming from bar to bar, no matter what “group” you hung with in high school.

This Fourth of July TWO of my girls had high school reunions. My youngest, Grace, celebrated her 10th and my oldest, Sarah, celebrated her 20th. Probably because of the ten year age gap, a few of their activities were slightly different. Sarah had a nice dinner and dancing with a DJ, while Grace’s class reserved a popular bar for a couple of hours. That didn’t mean the two classes, along with others, didn’t intersect out at the bars, they did.

The picnics were pretty different too – and the biggest difference was kids. Gracie had one or two friends with small children, and some of her classmates were just starting families, Sarah’s class picnic was teaming with kids. “Twice as many kids as adults.”

I suppose the biggest difference was the actual Fourth of July. I dropped each girl off at their float at the start of the parade at around 10:30am. Sarah rode the float, went out with friends afterwards to visit on the deck of the Arctic Bar. She met Scott and Weston at 4:30 for the Duck Race and root beer floats then came home at 5:00. Gracie, on the other hand, who I dropped off at 10:30 did not get home until 2:30am!!

What I didn’t expect was how much celebrating there would be. As people arrived in town, impromptu dinners were scheduled and friendships, which had been kept alive through social media, were picked up where they left off. Sarah and Grace both pored through old photo albums, selecting pictures to share with friends. (Sarahs were all hard copy, you had to scan hers to share, and Gracies were all digital, easily shared- what a difference ten years makes!)

Sarah’s class was a gentle conversation. Seeing how life had treated each other. Comparing scars. Celebrating accomplishments. Making play dates for their children.

Gracie’s class was jubilant. They loved each other. They played together. They cheered friends who were starting new paths. They had limitless energy.

This reunion weekend was fun for Scott and I – we got to hang with Weston and watch his mommy and his auntie celebrate. We kept him busy. We baked with him. He helped me with yard work – the leaf blower was great fun and my driveway looks great now – Thank you Weston! Scott and Gracie took him out for an afternoon in the kayak. He helped Scott mow the lawn. We went to the movies. We went to the Lumberjack Show. I picked up a bike off of market place and he logged miles on it. HE PLAYED MEXICAN TRAIN!!

A side note… Mexican train is a family tradition – we have spent hundreds of hours playing that game. The score cards are always dated and it is like an archeological search going through them. After Weston was born we had to wait till he went to bed to play, but now he is part of the family tradition and I couldn’t be more thrilled! He had the stamina for a few rounds and played strategically.

On the Fourth, while I dropped Sarah and Gracie off, Scott and Weston ran in the “Run Like It Is 1776” race that starts the parade. (1.776 miles long). He looked soooo little running by me, but he was strong, persevered and finished well. After the race Scott and West found me and we settled in to watch the parade. I love my grandson dearly, but can I say that the candy throwing did not bring out the best in him? He got pretty competitive and I had to watch him like a hawk to make sure he did not:

A) Take ALL the candy by tackling others.

B) Let the two year old next to us get some candy.

C) Did not get run over while he dived for errant candy.

In the end he selected exactly three pieces of candy to eat and never asked for another piece, and never wondered what happened to the big bag of candy. He loved the chase far more than he loved the prize. There is nothing better than a small town parade! He helped Scott release the ducks for the duck race. The Rotary club in town sells tickets for a duck race. Each ticket has a number that correlates to a specific rubber duck. The flotilla of ducks are released at the top of the river and the first twenty down win money prizes. Every year Scott helps with the release. Set the ducks free and his job is done. What he didn’t realize was that when you are seven years old, and you release the ducks, you have to run and follow the ducks. “Come on Opa!!” Weston yelled as he took off running down the side of the creek. Scott followed, only lost sight of West once when the crowd got thick, but they followed those ducks down the creek and actually beat them to the bottom. A new, unexpected tradition.

It was a busy weekend. There was lots of discussion about the cars, who would drive who where and when, and no matter how much I insisted that I did not mind being home without a car, just me and my flowers, it always got complicated. Complications in a busy in a fun/chaotic way.

Complications aside, it was a beautiful weekend, the weather was gorgeous, the events were happy and there were plenty of quiet moments at home, opportunities to take out the kayaks, play croquet, debrief about reunion activities (who did you see? what did you do?). I wonder what the future… 10 years from now will hold? Gracie celebrating her 20th. Sarah her 30th. Will Weston want to come? He will be seventeen after all. I hope so, because class reunions here, summers here, the Fourth of July here are pretty special.