I suppose most high schools have them. Homecomings are a chance for celebrating your alma mater, and reconnecting with old friends. My school, which is also where my twins are currently seniors, calls it Charter Day as it is the anniversary of the original proclamation of intent. 

People who have been out ten, or twenty, or fifty years travel back to revisit the memories and friendships. All over campus last weekend, groups gathered over luncheons, and six piece settings, and private parties. It was not my reunion year, but it was fun to be on the edges. 

Also on the periphery were two people at work. One was a photographer, the other a videographer. They skirted around musicians for the best angle, and zoomed in on a student with yellow sunglasses. They have experience in tapping the sweet, the surprising, and the defining shots that will represent a multifaceted event. My guess is that they will accumulate thousands of images, and many hours of footage between them. Interestingly, they are siblings. 

As the people who came to celebrate are boarding planes to go home, or settling back into their ordinary routines, those two professionals have a lot of work. Editing is a tedious task, and probably more is left out of the final collection than is left in. 
 

It might be possible to object. 

 

"You are only including the best pictures. There were others that were blurry, or off center, or unflattering. Why do you leave them out?"

 

Maybe a better question is, "Why save them?"

 

This echos what happened as classmates reminisced over coffee. In the hundreds of days that comprise a high school career, they pulled out their favorite ones. The disappointments and failed tests were overlooked. 

 

I strikes me as a good practice. In our marriages, and parenting, and friendships, there are the blurry interactions, and the clear ones. Which ones do we replay in our minds years later?