A Joyous Perspective on History: Appreciate the pieces that made you.

 It's Friday, and time for another Friday Night Thought Tale Hour with the Hendersons. As the weekend approaches, I have been thinking a lot about reunions, as there are two significant ones for Chris and me this Saturday. We can only be a part of one, but as I considered what they both mean to me, I realized what a deep level of meaning each one has to my life. While very different in scope, a Reunion signifies that you are a part of some group, and this group is gathering together to remember this. Did you know that the United States is one of the few countries that commonly has Reunions? I am not sure why this is, but it is sad to me that some people go through life without these events. Whether you can be there, you can't go, or you choose to ignore them, just getting the invitation will most likely evoke some feelings. Because to paraphrase a great orator:

"While you may not have made history yet, your history helped to make you." 

~Martin Luther King

Certainly, there's a lot we'd like to forget and leave behind when it comes to parts of our history. Mistakes we've made or hurts we've endured. But as I wrote about earlier this week in my "One Minute of Joy," these events have helped to shape us. We can fight them, or we can absorb and integrate them - but they will remain. When you reach a summit in your life, you probably don't want to recall some terrible and painful part of your past. I'm not asking you to do that. I'm just saying we can acknowledge that you are most likely there in part due to what you endured and overcame. That's what history is. It's the puzzle pieces, just put together differently. I found this beautiful statement this week:

"You don't know this new me; I put back my pieces differently."

Maybe that's why Reunions can be so special? It's an opportunity to both demonstrate and investigate how life has changed since you last touched base with these significant people. It's a study of fascination for muses like me, and even the non-social get to gasp in wonder at how much life can really impact a human. But you won't get to that if you just look skin deep. There are some who will still look similar on the outside, but there are none who are the same on the inside.

Because while your history does not now define you, 

it indeed has acted to refine you.

It's our chance to remember together that under it all, we are the same, and we share a common thing. That's why we are there. Either there is a shared gene pool, or perhaps a school or association, but there is something that joins us. And that will never change.

So here's a shout out to people who plan these things we call 'Reunions.'

This weekend, a large group of my classmates from Redwood High School will be getting together to touch base. While it's still a year away from the standard milestone Reunion, it has definitely been a long time. And here, 2000 miles away, my husband's Henderson clan will be gathering together to recognize their history and how it is conjoined in more than a last name. It's not easy to get people together when it's been a very long time since they have been in the same place at the same time. It takes more than just a desire, it actually requires a passion to make something like that happen. Both my friend Kathleen and Chris' Dad and Aunts have that passion. They probably hope that everyone who shares this commonality can attend, but they will also just be happy to see a few. The hours and magnitude of labor it will entail to carry off an event like this are innumerable. But that matters not to them. They recognize the importance of people not just remembering history - but appreciating it as well. Cheers to them all.

"There is nothing new in life except the history you do not know."

~Harry S. Truman

That's what a Reunion gathering actually offers you Friends - the opportunity to learn something you did not know. So the next time you are in one, try finding out something new. Something that will probably surprise you, but will also remind you that we are all the same, under the skin. 

So tonight, Chris and I will be toasting to our history while enjoying an elegant wine with a beautiful dinner at a local farm. Wine is the perfect example of how time and events can impact who we are. Here's to your discovering a new appreciation for the all the pieces of your history, and to the parts of your puzzle that are yet to come. Cheers, Friends.