
Do you like reunions? I do! Through the years, I have attended numerous family reunions and my class reunions. I know, I know, this may not be your thing, but, well, I like them.
I started attending family reunions before I could talk. Note the picture, I was only a toddler. My family, starting with my parents (from the Greatest Generation), attended family reunions come what may. They understood family gatherings create history of the best kind. Our reunions connected our pasts and reminded us where we came from. We cousins played together and everyone reminisced in a way that only families can. The tradition carried forward for years, even when all the cousins grew up with families of our own. Our potluck meals rivaled any prestigious dinners at the White House.
So, it was only natural for me to pay attention to announcements for my class reunions. I have attended almost all of them, dragging my husband along as well. To be fair, he has always been a great sport about it. In many respects, my life was shaped by my high school experiences. Seeing my old high school friends is nostalgic, and we have celebrated cherished memories. Yes, even chuckling about wearing the vintage navy-blue gym uniforms (you know, the one-piece kind girls wore), and square dancing with boys in PE that made me more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
Last month my husband and I attended a unique reunion in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. We met up with folks we’d never laid eyes on. Talk about packing suitcases with trepidation!
When I wrote my novel, Unintended Hero, a WWII story about my father’s battles and experiences aboard the USS Denver, I researched his ship a great deal. Come to find out, I stumbled upon The USS Denver Association that was not only active on social media, but held reunions once a year for anyone connected to the CL58 (my dad’s ship) and the LPD9, the more recent ship. I was ecstatic!
Replete with my USS Denver cap and gripping my sling bag tighter than a steering wheel, I walked into the first meeting with about thirty other people. Relief instantly replaced my anxiety when 1) I observed everyone else was a baby-boomer like me, 2) everyone welcomed my husband and me with open arms, and 3) the love of the Denver ships encompassed all of us in a way I cannot even describe. What a reunion! For five days our group hit the sites of this beautiful town—laughing, sharing stories, purchasing fudge, eating at some really neat places, shopping, and taking pictures galore.
After our banquet on the final evening, we had a memorial service to commemorate all the USS Denver sailors who walked the planks of both ships but were no longer living. I swallowed hard, remembering my dad who spent three years on the CL58, first as a scared, skinny teenager, and later as a confident and patriotic young man who narrowly escaped death on more than one occasion during WWII.
I do love reunions. And this one did my heart good. I sensed my dad’s spirit with me. And it doesn’t get any better than that.
What about you? Do you like reunions? Any special ones that stand out as one of a kind? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to leave a comment.

I’m always looking for more family stories. You know, the kind where family members are sitting around the dinner table casually chatting, and someone says, “Remember when Charlie . . . ” and sometimes that same family story is regaled again and again at family gatherings. I’d love to feature one of your family stories for others to enjoy. You can write it, I can write, or we can do it together! Get in touch with me at beckyvanvleet9@gmail.com. You could be next!
A lovely story of family and school reunions, and the reunion for the Denver sounds like it was wonderful!
That sounds like an awesome reunion!