We’ve Done It… And We’re Still Here!

 Some of us had been planning and anticipating in the 61^st anniversary of our graduation from nursing school. The second weekend of May, 2022 finally arrived and it was even better than what we were expecting. Whoever thought we were getting too old to have a party, just don’t know any nurses! We’ve had a lot of practice!

We were able to check into the hotel on Friday afternoon, and Marj., one of our classmates, did a wonderful job of booking the suite on the 12^th floor with a view of the city and the mountains, and staying in contact with the hotel until the day of we were to arrive, making sure there were no ‘glitches’. Other classmates were arriving during the afternoon, some who were waiting for the classmate who is sharing a room, and others who were not planning to stay after the banquet, but came to help start the ‘party’. Enjoying a glass of wine (donated by Maureen and Jack D), and snacking on bagged peanuts, pretzels, and chocolates (donated by Carole and Morris S), the chatter was spontaneous and delightful. Most didn’t need to be ‘introduced’… none of us have changed a bit (so we thought)!

The Alumnae Banquet had announced that Cocktails would be served at 5:30 p.m., and the Banquet would begin at 6:30 p.m. The decorations were beautiful, the classes were directed to designated tables, and we later learned that there were more than 300 guests in attendance. That’s a crowd, considering that such gatherings had been cancelled during the last two years because of the pandemic. The meal, featuring some great Alberta beef was superb, and the staff was efficient, friendly, and well trained.

Because three classes… the 2020 class, last year’s class, and this year’s class, were being honored as ‘Golden Nuggets’, the program was long but enjoyed. It was delightful to again hear our classmate play her electronic organ for the processionals, and this year, her husband, an honorary member of the Alumnae, sang ‘Follow The Gleam’ during the Rededication Service. Following the program, our class photos were taken by a new photographer, and he and his assistants were very organized.

Back in the Suite, the visiting resumed. There was nothing ‘officially’ planned, but it was a delightful late evening of chatting, browsing through scrapbooks and albums brought by classmates, and the cameras were continually at the ready. There has always been a collection of photos of our class events… starting with black/white snapshots, then colored slides when we were in training, then colored photos and digital photos of excursions to the mountains that filled the remainder of the weekend. Now they are treasures that bring back a myriad of memories that were shared. We finally decided that we all needed some sleep so the party broke up about midnight. There were no major issues except for one classmate got locked in the bathroom, but with some ‘exterior’ help and encouragement, she soon was able to re-join the party!

Val and I slept in the suite, and made sure that an alarm clock was set so that we would be awake and presentable when the hotel staff would arrive with the breakfast. Classmates were told that breakfast would be available at 9 a.m. and whenever they arrive, because nothing would spoil. Berna and Maureen did a great job of planning and arranging for us to enjoy the breakfast in the suite instead of meeting in the hotel café. There were muffins and squares, fresh fruit, yogurt, and coffee, tea, and fruit juice to drink. Many expressed that it was the best arrangement because if we would be trying to have breakfast in the café, we could very well have been asked to leave because of being too noisy!

I personally want to thank everyone for the kind words expressed to our team regarding the planning and communication to keep them informed. It was a delight for me to be part of the planning and ‘doing’ with the other longtime friends. I’m also overwhelmed by the comments regarding the website that is an ongoing project. I did have to ‘relearn’ some skills, but I’ve always been a computer ‘nerd’, and still love to learn things to do on the computer. A telephone directory is a work in progress. I printed my contact list, knowing that no email message had not been delivered and returned to me, but mailing addresses and telephone numbers may have changed, so will be updated with my classmates’ help.

This may have been our ‘second-last’ reunion! I know that we’ve said that this is definitely to be our last one, but the last graduating class will be celebrating their ‘Golden Nugget’ Reunion in two years. It has now been suggested that we should think about joining them at the last Alumnae Banquet in 2024. Let’s see if any of us will feel ‘up to it’ at that time.

Remember, our age is just a number!