Last weekend was Charter Day. That is the local vernacular for homecoming, and a parade of people arrived in town for their reunions. It was not mine, nor John's so I had the pleasure of watching from the sidelines. The phenomenon of having a common experience, namely being juniors and seniors, then scattering to the winds for twenty or thirty or fifty years, followed by a blitz of coming back together is fascinating. People change, not only their appearance, but their livelihoods and addresses. Catching up on multiple decades can be like a trip through a time warp. 

It might all be meaningless, except that parts of us remain the same. The memories carved like petroglyphs on our hearts can depict infatuations, rejections, and those exploding emotions so endemic in adolescence. 

There was a service at the cathedral in which the pews were peopled with current students, faculty, and returning alumni. I observed their various vantage points, from those still in the thick of academics, to those wading through the aspects of life where a stellar GPA does not necessarily protect you from failure. 

It is possible that the juxtaposition of things we cannot change- our past- with our present circumstances is a unique opportunity. If only for a weekend we see our history and our current lives with a kind of stereoscopic vision. Observing where we have been impacts where we would like to proceed. This is perhaps one of the perks of being human.

Not only that it softens us enough invite gratitude.