Reunion

This past weekend I went to Pittsburgh with my mother. Part of the weekend was spent hanging with my cousin Wei while the other part was spent with two of my mom's college classmates, Mr. Pan and Mr. Chang, both of whom Mom hadn't seen since their graduation 30 years ago.

They were so excited to see each other, and they couldn't wait to swap stories and jokes, look at old photographs, and catch up on the most recent happenings. It was fun to watch them. And they were all quite proud of each other's achievements.

It was funny for me to think that 30 years ago, the three of them were chemE grads, straight out of school. I wonder how the world looked to them, and where they thought they would be 30 years from that point in time. Mr. Chang actually became a pastor after working in the chemE field for a number of years. We all attended his church on Sunday, and his sermon was quite lively and entertaining.
Towards the end of his sermon, Rev. Chang put a picture up on the powerpoint of himself with some chemE grads on the day of their graduation. Sure enough - Mom and Mr. Pan were in that picture too. (They were all wearing shirts and ties... Mom included! Hey, that's what you get for being the only female in your class in 1976!) He expressed his enthusiasm and thankfulness for being able to reunite with his two chemE classmates, and then he said something I'll never forget: "Those four years in college were the best times of my life. I met the best people and I have so many wonderful memories of my times with them. Remember your college friends - these are bonds you will hold for a lifetime."

The other cool thing was meeting the Pan and Chang families (each have two daughters). We got acquainted in no time - it was funny to think that our parents were such great friends in their college days, and here we were, building friendships with each other in another generation! Did our parents ever imagine that would happen?

It made me wonder where I would end up in 30 years, and where my friends will be. Will I still be in touch with them? Will my favorite college memories still seem like yesterday? And... will my kids know their kids?