When I was younger, people, especially those who had lived several more chapters of life than I, warned me of the importance of appreciating every day of life because once my school days were done life would fly by in a flash.

“Sure time will fly”, I remember thinking. Time is time no matter one’s age, I scoffed to myself.

            With my 25^th high school class reunion beginning today (July 31) I find myself looking back over the last quarter of a century and asking – “where has the time gone?” Seems that those older folks of my youth had more wisdom than I realized at the time.

            I’m not quite certain when middle-age begins, but considering those of us who graduated from North Country Union High School in 1984 are now in our 40s, it’s safe to say that some of us are more than half done our journey through life. Although I’m not thrilled with that prospect I also don’t fret about it either. I have made a point of enjoying my life and making the best of every situation and every day.  However if I could I would certainly like to at least slow the passage of time. In saying that though, although my long hair that once hung down to my shoulders, and bangs I could comb down to my chin, have been replaced by a shiny forehead and a big bald spot on top to boot, I certainly don’t feel as old as I once thought 40 something must feel. I remember back in my school days I thought 30 was old, and 40 was pushing the limits of human longevity.

            As with any other graduating class we all chose different paths as we tried to make sense of life. Some went right off to college, others joined the military, and yet others immediately joined the labor force. Myself, I married soon after graduation (to Penny Curtis, a 1984 graduate of Lake Region Union High School) and became a young father to twin sons with a daughter to come a few years later. Mixed in with having children, making a living, and trying to be a good husband and father, I managed to earn a bachelor’s degree in Psychology before I stumbled into the world of writing and chronicling the history of the region. Adding to that has been my ongoing stint in the Vermont House of Representatives.

It’s my understanding that some of the people of my class are still buying diapers for their infant children, while others are pampering their grandchildren.  I fall somewhere in between. My sons, Curtis and Nick, have graduated from college and are living in Maine, and my daughter, Emily, is 18 and destined for college in Maine in a few weeks. We will soon have an empty nest, and I suspect sometime between this reunion and my 50^th reunion my wife and I will have grandchildren.

Admittedly I often find myself warning people of younger generations of the importance of enjoying every day of life, and to make the best out of life because it will fly by in a flash. It’s the same advice I was given in an earlier time, advice that I scoffed at. I suspect that many of the young people I bestow my wisdom on react the same way as I did – listen, but not pay much attention, after all, how can an “old” person in his 40s really remember what life is really all about?  How wrong I was! Life, for me, is better now than ever. It has been a great ride.