The Yearbooks are Here!!!

I was a hard working member of my high school yearbook staff. Under the guise of journalism, I enjoyed putting my own photo on as many pages as possible. That was the 'name of the game' and a great motivation for the many long hours it took until we received the long-awaited call of "The yearbooks are here!!!" For the staff that meant a night of unloading boxes and implementing the next day's distribution plan. It was also a cause for great celebration.

Yearbooks Are Still Cool

My two high schoolers brought their yearbooks home yesterday. With all the things that have changed, with all the things that are passing into obscurity, I am glad the tradition of high school yearbooks carries the same excitement for my two boys as it did for me 'in the day'.

Who Would Sell Their Yearbook?

I am always sad to see yearbooks at flea markets. I would never part with mine. I use them to prod my memory and especially love going through them with a group of old high school friends where, "Oh my gosh, where is he now?" and "Do you know she is a (whatever) now?" and "He still looks the same." are the catch phrases of the gathering. As the years roll by it becomes, "His son looks more like I remember him than he does." Yikes...happens to us all.

Sign My Yearbook

What was written in our yearbooks was extremely critical for us girls. We spent weeks doing so, lugging our yearbooks to signing parties and to our senior trip. We didn't just say "BFF", we wrote novels. Those writings are priceless to me today. I know boys are different, but I lament my youngest son's decision, "I'm not doing the writing-thing this year...too much trouble."

Yearbook Pics Become Reunion Name Tags

Nowadays, it is popular...even critical the older one gets...for the yearbook pics to be used as name tags during reunions. "Oh...great..." some might say as they struggle to shirk their high school persona. Seriously, at my last reunion (30???) I had trouble recognizing people and the picture name tags got me through without sticking my foot in my mouth. Let me tell you, too, as the charwoman of the reunion (why I did this I'll never know...still tired just mentioning it) I made name tags for every single person in our class because I didn't know who might show up at the last minute. Killed me that so many name tags went unused. Killed me that so many came for whom there was no name tag pre-made.

More Work for Me

"Did you have your senior picture taken that year?" I would ask politely.
"Sure I did, " was always their reply.
"I wonder why it wasn't in the yearbook?" I would asked quizzically.
Fortunately, I had brought all year's annuals and was able, on the spot, to capture their pic from other years. I spent the whole first half of the party running back to the hotel office's copier, copying their image from the other books and making new name tags... for which I am not so certain people really appreciated.
As the night and my patience wore on, I started saying, "Here's a blank name tag, draw your pic here."

Reminder of Time Passing

So the yearbooks are here and another school year is done. Always a sober reminder to this mom that more time with my boys is forever gone. I am facing another May filled with 'lasts'. I don't know why, but the last school lunch is a heartbreaker. And, then, graduation.

Do you get sad at the school year's end?

Would you ever allow your yearbooks to end up at a flea market?