Reconnecting with School Friends

It just sort of slowly happened, but I've been reconnecting with some old school friends. It's been really nice and a bit rewarding to say the least. There seems to be a bond there that has endured all these decades, which really surprises me. Today, after having tried several times in the past to find a certain best friend from my primary school some 45 years ago, I managed to get a reply to a phone number I tracked down on a website that this friend may still have been using. It was a week ago I sent the message, so thought it was another dead end, but he answered. To make sure it was him, he correctly answered a qualifying question I gave him. Unbelievably, he only lives 1/2hr away and has done so for years without each other knowing so. We're catching up in a couple of weeks and he's really looking forward to it. All of these reconnections have been possible due to Facebook pages regarding the schools I attended. It'll be interesting to catch to say the least. Hopefully we won't find each other intolerable lol.

Have you ever caught up with old school friends? How did it pan out for you?

Today I caught up with my best friend from Primary School. It’s been 45 years! It was a great reconnection and we will keep connected. Lives less than an hour away and neither of us realised. Our quick coffee turned into a two hour brunch and we barely scratched the surface of the content we could share. I’m so glad I made the effort to track him down.

They'd be very few people from school I'd want to reconnect with (or even be in the same room with), but it's nice for those who have fond memories.

ardour said:

They'd be very few people from school I'd want to reconnect with (or even be in the same room with), but it's nice for those who have fond memories.

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I can understand that. I've only chosen certain people of course

okidoke said:

Have you ever caught up with old school friends? How did it pan out for you?

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Yes, I have but after 50 years we no longer have anything in common so it doesn't "pan out".

okidoke said:

It just sort of slowly happened, but I've been reconnecting with some old school friends. It's been really nice and a bit rewarding to say the least. There seems to be a bond there that has endured all these decades, which really surprises me. Today, after having tried several times in the past to find a certain best friend from my primary school some 45 years ago, I managed to get a reply to a phone number I tracked down on a website that this friend may still have been using. It was a week ago I sent the message, so thought it was another dead end, but he answered. To make sure it was him, he correctly answered a qualifying question I gave him. Unbelievably, he only lives 1/2hr away and has done so for years without each other knowing so. We're catching up in a couple of weeks and he's really looking forward to it. All of these reconnections have been possible due to Facebook pages regarding the schools I attended. It'll be interesting to catch to say the least. Hopefully we won't find each other intolerable lol.

Have you ever caught up with old school friends? How did it pan out for you?

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I can relate completely Okidoke. In my final working years as retirement approached, I became more sentimental about friendships lost along the way. As a life long single, I had always been good at staying in touch with friends, but their busy lives too often didn't allow it. In other words, I eventually gave up on some of the one-way friendships.

I proactively reconnected with 8 people from 30-45 years ago. This started with surprise phone calls and continued with planned visits - that were quite fun by the way. All were receptive to me, making my efforts an entirely good experience. Of these contacts, 2 went by the wayside, 3 remain yearly penpals, and 3 have become new best friends that I visit every year, doing activities and making new memories together.

The sad reality is that I've always had to be the assertive one working to build and maintain relationships. It's never been a fair or balanced effort. And yet, this final push to restore some previous friendships has proved to be quite worthwhile. I commend you for discovering the same Okidoke and encourage others to be similarly proactive.

I consider friendships to be an investment of one's time, heart, experiences, and memories. It's best to hold onto the ones we make, but never too late to restore lost ones.