“Oh, so you’re Terry’s daughter?,” the financial advisor with whom I’d been chitchatting for the last hour asked me across the table in the hotel ballroom.
“Yes, who did you think I was with?,” I ask befuddled.
“Well, you said you were a “+1” when you introduced yourself so I assumed you were the Class of 1969 instead of ‘68.”
Geez, I thought, did I look that old? And why the heck would I be crashing the 50th high school reunion of the class ahead of me?
I accompanied my mom this past weekend to her 50th high school reunion in Auburn, Maine. It was a great excuse to return to my second childhood home after six years since my last visit. I have fantastic memories of Maine having spent every summer with my grandparents there growing up.
The trip also brought some closure for both my mom and myself. We visited the old homesteads, one sitting sad and vacant, the other occupied by a new owner who graciously showed us the upgrades he had made to the place.
There is a wise saying that the days pass slowly but the years pass quickly. It’s true though when you are young it is difficult to comprehend the (maxim.)
After the obligatory socializing, the reunion festivities officially kicked off with a roll call of class attendees and a video tribute to classmates who had died.
I couldn’t help but wonder how many of them died without any type of written estate plan in place. No doubt the majority of them if national statistics hold true. Which would be a shame since proper planning would have saved their families time, money, and headaches in the transition of property and money to their loved ones.
The band started shortly thereafter and I dragged my mom, along with the rest of our table, out onto the dance floor for the first set. I received a lot of double-takes as other classmates sized me up and down trying to decide if I went to school with them.
Although the jury is still out on whether I will attend my own 30th high school reunion this Fall, I certainly got in some great practice with the chitchat (not my favorite activity in a room full of strangers). (“Oh, you’re so and so,” looking at their name tag. “Do you remember my mother, Terry?”)
Kristen “Reunion Crasher” Marks
P.S. You can avoid being one of the statistics and easily get your own estate planning affairs in order with one of our Florida Family Succession Strategy Sessions. You can schedule yours right here using my online calendar by clicking the button below.
