The Season of Reunion

We’re in holiday season, very likely the first in which we are seeing friends and family, face-to-face, in a long time. Reunions, small and large, are happening all across the globe.I think about these gatherings a lot.  For a while, I considered Reunion as the title of my memoir because the action of the story takes place between my twentieth and fortieth high school reunions. How well we enjoy them depends on our personal histories and the cast of characters. We may be looking forward to some but not others. We may even be dreading one or two.But I've come around to thinking that there are great riches to be found in these reunions. Enough that I have some thoughts about how we might reframe these events in a way that enriches rather than unravels our day-to-day or writing lives.What if we thought of these meet-ups as info gathering opportunities? After all, these are the people who know you well; they may even have known you your whole life. What if you could get one to share a story or two about you or a member of your family? Yes, that story would be from their perspective. Yes, that story might be resurrected from their unreliable reality. But what if they conjured up anecdotes you didn’t recall or remember the same way. Perhaps they remembered a key moment you forgot.  These might be people who were with you when you took your first step or had your first drink or knew your father as a young boy. They might be schoolmates who not only remember your parents, but also your grandparents or great-grandparents.In addition to providing some go-to topics (instead of potentially dicey ones like politics), there might be some personal discovery in these stories. You might actually have some fun.A recent conversation with my dad unearthed that my grandfather had turned down a large sum of money for a painting that he bought in Haiti that had become quite valuable. My grandfather preferred having the painting. This tale touched my heart because it connected me to the art-loving side of the family. They helped me link me, ancestrally, to what makes me, me.Only people you’ve known for a long time - or those around you - know the you who was forming before resumes and the life that shaped us. It’s easy to forget – and dismiss – how imprinted we are by these experiences and these people.The word reunion comes from the root re, meaning again, and unus meaning making one. Reunions can make us as one again. A completion can come from returning. Walking into the kitchens, dining rooms or former classrooms where so many micro, character-making events occurred can be its own reward.We are all part of a circle of people, whether it’s from a neighborhood, camp, religious group or place of work or school.Here's to revisioning your reunions this holiday season.There are many potential gifts waiting for us there.If we go. Reviews & Upcoming Events Listen to my live interview with Liz Olds of Write On Radio on December 21 at 7 pm (CT).Check out this just-released interview by Judy Bolton-Fasman in JewishBoston