Week 238
Positive post Sunday, September 12, 2021- Week 238.
Have you had the experience of reconnecting with childhood friends you haven’t seen in years and when you did you walked down memory lane like it was just yesterday? Or have you attended a high school reunion and caught up with classmates from years past, reminiscing about those younger years in your life?
I was blessed to have had the opportunity to experience both this past Sunday. Michele Lomen Rendler and I were honored to be invited to the surprise 60th birthday party for my lifelong friend Jim Jimenez. Jim and I went to school together from 1st grade all the way through high school. Happy Birthday again Jim, and thanks to Sharon and the kids for including us in your celebration and for creating this opportunity for a few Golden Knights to reconnect. Thanks to Jim’s amazing family, I was able to walk down memory lane with Jim and a few of our classmates from both St. James Elementary School and St. Francis High School. A few of us graduated from St. James 46 years ago and we all graduated from St. Francis 42 years ago. Even with all that time in between, when we started talking it felt like just yesterday.
I won’t go into details as it would take several posts to share our rich history together in school, and all the life experiences we have all navigated through since. Let me simply say that it was truly uplifting to catch up with my classmates and lifelong friends, reminiscing about our school days (and yes there were many stories), learning about their families and careers and sharing both the successes and challenges we have all faced over the years.
In my eyes, after spending the evening together with Ron, Brian, Dan, Keith, Bill, Vince, Brian, some of their spouses and Jim and his family, it is clear that the mission statements of both St. James and St. Francis shown below have been fulfilled through their lives.
I’m grateful for the time we spent together, thankful for their friendship and proud of the successful and faithful lives they have been leading. I pray for them and their families (and all our fellow alumni from both schools) as we all continue to navigate through the rewards and challenges the good Lord has planned for us in our lives. Especially as many of us recently or will soon transition into the next phase of our lives, commonly referred to as retirement! May we all live the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi!
St. James Mission Statement: Instilling wisdom through knowledge and faith.
St. Francis High School Mission Statement: A Catholic college preparatory school, develops faithful men, loving brothers, virtuous leaders and dedicated learners in the Capuchin Franciscan tradition of love, discipline, and prayer.
Who is that childhood friend or classmate you always planned to reach out to but haven’t? Call them!
What are the mission statements for the schools you have attended, or are currently attending? Are you living up to them?