Remembering You, by Michelle

Your faces have been running through my mind over the years. I may not remember your name, but I remember a moment. Let me just add that sometimes they are weird, humorous, and always very random! I wonder if you have the same memories, if you have memories I don't have, and if these memories would give us lots of laughter and joy, as if we were experiencing them for the first time.

These memories flood over me because I work with young people who look very much like some of you in the class of 1986. I went with a young person to get her hair cut, an 80's retro look, and I saw Sara W’s funky style looking right at me. “Amazon Queen,” a youth in my church who is extremely tall and strikingly confident, brings to mind Kris B in her mini-skirt. The guy who jokes all the time is Tim D; the wild guy who gets blond highlights, Zeke R; the girl who always smiles, Kimm T; and the guy who always tries to charm his way out of trouble, Joe B. The guy I call with some academic question—I hear the voice of Andy J. The soccer mom who I envy for her ability to match her purse, shoes, and outfit has the face of Laura S.

After graduation here, I made the rounds to a few parties of members in my congregation, and I had a flashback to Michelle T’s party. “Jungle juice”—what was in that? On prom night, I helped a parent make breakfast for some of my youth at the beach, and I saw Maria G with her bright smile and warm hospitality.

On a recent youth trip, a young guy brought a forensic-science textbook with pictures of autopsies: I had a flashback to the SHS dark room where Elizabeth C had the exact same book!

Dad called to say he had worked on a Habitat house in Slidell with the mother of a girl on our softball team, Jennifer—and I thought JB, Jellybean! Why did I know that, and what does it mean? I have no idea.

I watched breakfast club for the 100th time with youth who had never seen it and thought of Mark S. Why? Maybe because he joined me for about 75 of those viewings.

Do you have these same memories? Whose faces do you see in random moments of your days, and who do you want to see face to face after 20 years? I hope to see all of you some time in the next year!

Michelle