I have just spent several days with two school friends of mine.
I went through primary and some secondary years with them.
I broke tradition and went to a (Catholic) Technical School. We spent our teenager years together which included going to dances, sharing birthdays and being there (me) for their weddings.
Employment, relationships, marriage, then saw us seeing less of each other.
One went to Perth after his wedding and has remained there ever since.
So over the past forty years we haven’t seen much of each other or contact either.
A couple of years ago we some how made contact and efforts were made to renew our relationship from old.
Last year, Joe and I flew to Perth for two weeks and had a wonderful time with Mick and his wife touring the south of Western Australia. Before we left dates were set for this month for another reunion and time together.
We gathered in Yarrawonga – a day touring Cobram and surrounds, then Echuca, a day in Bright and Mt Beauty finishing with an easy day enjoying Yarrawonga and Mulwala.
It amazed us last year and the same this time, and that is, the ability to just start up a conversation and keep going as we did in years past.
We quizzed each other about other school friends and whether they were still alive.
We would recall stories from school days, the girls we socialised with – who did they marry and so on.
There maybe many years where there is no contact but it’s amazing that lasting relationships never die – they stand the length of time. We just chatted, stirred and laughed and reminisced for hours and hours.
There is no doubt that the relationships we form as children become a blessing for life.
Fr Michael Morley
