Hitting Close To Home

Last Wednesday as we were on deadline sending last week’s edition to the printer, we had a few office visitors. Now usually on Wednesdays we try to keep our social interactions in person or via phone to a minimum because time tends to be of essence, especially if we are behind.

Well last week I was behind schedule, the March city council meeting was the evening prior and I was still working on it. I usually begin writing the story the night of the meeting and finish it up the next morning. Those Tuesdays tend to be long days for me since I commute in and out the city twice due to school pickups.

Anyway, last Wednesday in walks a customer not familiar to me who said they had an interesting story to tell. I love a good story, so I paused my writing and perked up my ears. After giving me a bit of personal background and inquiring about my connection to Monticello, I was emailed the letter found to the left of this column about the Class of 1984.

I didn’t know the sender and the sender didn’t know me, but after reading it we found a common connection—my sister Karen. The sender graduated with her and had always found the conundrum written about interesting and now 40 years later wanted others to ponder it.

Karen always worked hard during school, too hard sometimes I would say but then I was young watching her work all the time. I recognize that very same “drive to thrive” in Robyn, it’s kind of eerie. The anxiety to get a project done timely and as close to perfection, the frustration with a grade she dislikes though it is good. She came home a few weeks ago fired up because the school’s administration was talking of doing away with grades above 100… she and the STEM Council were taking that up for sure. Unlike my sister, I make sure Robyn schedules fun, free time into her schedule because burn out is real.

I don’t remember much being said about the yearbook issue in our home back then. Most things that were contentious or unpleasant were usually discussed by my parents with me as a little fly on the wall. I often tell Robyn that many of the little things that she does or doesn’t do now will be a faint memory in the future. But maybe not?

I usually try to buy the kids’ yearbook each year because it’s fun and amazing to look back years later and see yourself & classmates in awe. They look at my old yearbooks gawking and laughing at their mother.

When the letter came about, I called Karen and asked if she had a yearbook her graduating year and did she remember any significant drama around so. She said “no” but it would have been nice to have one. I don’t think she cared much back then about it as she was focused on life after high school. But whether she did or not, her other classmates may have and seems in fact they did…still do some 40 years later.

All this talk about yearbooks just reminded me that I have until next week to order one for Jacob this year. And in that moment just felt the magnitude of it all. He had a big year this—being a part of the inaugural middle school Basketball Club, inaugural middle school Technology Student Association, and middle school Robotics for which he qualified to compete at nationals in June. Yeah, I buying a yearbook.

Anyway, I can say without a doubt that Karen and Randy Alexander’s trajectory since that has been good in terms of careers. Karen’s career has been stellar allowing her to work & travel around the nation and internationally. Last I heard, Randy has had a great career that led to him working at the Pentagon. So yearbook or not, they’ve earned their just desserts in life.