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I was sitting with a bag of chips while chatting with my high school classmates about our coming class reunion. The topic about a retro evening dance party was brought up. There were several suggestions of what attire to wear, and suddenly it dawned on me that there is no way I can lose 50 lbs in time, so I tackle another bag of chips before it get stale.

In my hometown of Sagay, Negros Occidental, the annual combined class reunion includes graduates from the past 60 years. All ages come together to reminisce, and perhaps moan about the loss of open spaces from our old school - no more agricultural lots, the grandstand had shrink in size, and gone is the botanical garden. The new students will never know how much fun we have had! Oh well, that's how we old timers love to pontificate the pending doom of our present society. Everything in the past is always referred to as the "good ol' days".

Reading through the chat in our class messenger page brought me back to high school. We laughed while sharing stories and photos of our youth. Every one seem not to want to miss the excitement and renewed camaraderie that had resulted from planning and organizing the reunion. I guess the shared experience in high school bound us forever, even now, half a lifetime later. Each one is excited to know how everyone had moved ahead in life, and how they looked after almost 40 years. I certainly do not look the same, and neither do my old friends. I am curious who among my classmates lost hair and gained bellies - which most probably about 95% of our class, who will pull out reading glasses to show pictures of their grand children and who had died, which is a stark reminder that we are not invincible.

Of course, I don't expect that we would be dancing until dawn, because it is not just easy to party heartily when our joints talk back. But there will be plenty of rooms for laughter, real hugs of joy for and from each other. Right now the internet connection is already satisfying, so imagine the riot we will have seeing each other in person.

So come everyone. Consider a nostalgic visit back to a time and place that formed an important part of our life. For three days, we could look past the thinning hair, extra pounds and obvious years of wear and tear and realize the true gift of those memories. We don’t get to choose our families nor do we pick our classmates, but we are linked forever, just the same.