Celebrate Childhood Memories by Pat Simmons

Recently, I spoke with twin sisters from my old grade school. They were one of two sets. I hadn't connected with them since we graduated from a Catholic grade school that has since been demolished and replaced with condos.

I got a call from "Ann", one of the first set of twins about a rumor that a fellow classmate had died. The news saddened me, because the only memory of H.D. was he had a crush on every girl in our class. We promised to get together for lunch or dinner when the other set of twins visited St. Louis.

When I reached out on Facebook to tell "Lisa"--the other set of twins, she told me about another classmate who died. WOW. On a conference call weeks later with "Lisa" and her twin "Luella", we chatted about classmates who died too young, our families and ailments. We promised to stay connected. 

In a moment of reflection, I asked myself am I that old, or too young, to start losing classmates? My mom, who is in her 80s, often tells me about this or that classmate who passed away, but I never thought I would hear it so soon.

Some of the ones who died from my class were women who met tragic ends. Neither of them is in this photo. Yet, I still have memories of them. Reunions are important—class, family, company reunions. Life is short. I'm going to do better to stay connected.

Below is a picture of Wayne, "Ann", "Anita", and me at a grade school reunion a few years before the pandemic. Although Facebook has its faults, I've found about a dozen of them. I hope those I have lost touch with are healthy and blessed.  

Have you attended your high school reunion? What about your grade school? Do you have any old childhood photos?

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Pat Simmons is a multi-published Christian romance author of more than thirty titles. She is a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth passionate about researching her ancestors, then casting them in starring roles in her novels. She is a four-time recipient of the RSJ Emma Rodgers Award for Best Inspirational Romance. Christmas Dinner was also an Emma Award winner for Book of the Year. Christmas Dinner and Here for You were featured in Woman’s World Magazine.

As a Christian, Pat describes the evidence of the gift of the Holy Ghost as a life-altering experience. She has converted her sofa-strapped sports fanatical husband into an amateur travel agent, untrained bodyguard, and GPS-guided chauffeur. They have a son and a daughter. Pat holds a B.S. in mass communications from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, and worked in various positions in radio, television, and print media for more than twenty years. Visit her at www.patsimmons.net.

Check out one of her most popular series inspired by her own family genealogy research.