Meanwhile, I was reaching the end of the photo project – and it was almost time for our reunion. How I was looking forward to it! After four months of living in the 70s and 80s – fast forward to 2016!
Finally, the work was done, the speech was written and it was time to head off. We were all spending several days in a caravan park which had facilities for get togethers. The club has a huge attendance now and has continued for over 40 years. I had been a founding member at the ripe old age of 20.
My friends who had shared those first seven years of the club were coming from all parts of the country. There was much hugging, laughter, tears, talking and eating… and more laughter.
We had our own private gathering in the hall to view the slide show I had put together. The little memories, and jokes from that time resurfaced. With the lights out you would think we were still all around 25. We truly stepped back in time – and I think most of us gathered there were aware of how special those years had been.
We saw parts of the country – the wilderness – that most other people had never seen – we explored caves, not really knowing how we would get through, where we would come out – but having the utmost faith in whoever said they had caving experience. We tackled abseiling with the same faith – someone had some experience – so off we went.
We trusted each other. If we got lost on a walk, we knew we would eventually find our way out – we helped each other – across deep streams, up rocky outcrops, through difficult vegetation – and we shared campfire conversations….
We were truly blessed with finding each other, at that time in our lives, with those common interests and values. It was a rare gift.
And Roger had been the record keeper. He would painstakingly catalogue all his slides – recording everything in detail – and put on regular slide shows for us. Sadly with the onset of his dementia, the slides ended up a chaotic mess, with many ruined. I was happy to be able to salvage as many as I did.
We toasted Roger many times over that reunion weekend – we made sure he was part of it. I like to think that he was indeed there, enjoying the celebration.
I was also reminded of something that he ‘said’ to me. This in fact happened after he had passed away. Doug and I visited his property to say our goodbyes. As I sat outside the house on a log, crying, I heard him say to me “Always remember the moments. Because that’s all that really matters. It’s the moments in your life that you take with you.”
He was saying to always create ‘moments’. Life should be a series of ‘moments’, shared with good friends, doing things you love. We had created so many moments in those seven years in the 70’s and 80’s. Through the tears I smiled. It was so very true…
IF YOU ARE NEW TO THIS STORY, PLEASE START AT THE BEGINNING HERE – Part 1 – An Introduction
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