Call it old school, and literally, this weekend we had a reunion at the old school. I've always tried to avoid them and pretend that, like everything else, seeing old friends and the school mattered as much as a shrug of the shoulders and expletive of
But this reunion brought back so many memories. A lot of good ones, surprisingly. At our school, we had nuns who spoke French - that was part of their ordination (if that's the word used) and since they are a French order they had a system very much like the French one.
Everyday we walked past the columns
Through the door with this window.
Up and down these stairs. We loved sliding down the bannisters and got in trouble for it.
Studied in this beautiful library. That was the best thing. And when you're little the steps and ceiling high book racks look immense. I checked my first library book out here. I still want to curl up in the window seat and live here.
We would get 'Tres Bien' cards on Fridays if we didn't slide the bannisters.
We'd make fun of the tapestry of Saint George slaying the dragon.
Now there's a farm with goats and chickens in the back, it's near the nun's cemetery where our teachers are buried. The ones we loved and the ones we didn't love so much. And the school is still going strong.
Sorry I hope the pictures bring something to life. I'm going over copy edits that arrived six weeks late, and working through, yet again, what's turned out to be 497 pages. Please wish me luck,
Cara - Tuesday
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Feeling melancholic today? Maybe it's just me, the wistfulness of youth long gone, how quickly it passes looking back, and how steadily the world spins on looking forward. None the less, a lovely little snapshot.
ReplyDeleteThat was a lovely reminiscence, Cara! I could see you going through the days as vividly as if I'd been there with you. But I'd venture to say the nuns would never have given me a card reading 'Tres Bien'; more likely "off with his head." Best of luck with the manuscript.
ReplyDeleteI doubt they would have been THAT extreme, Jeff, even with YOU. However, I suspect your card might well have read, "Fermer la bouche!"
DeleteI can't visit my old school as they had to pull it down. It was a health hazard :(
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the typescript, I am in that dark place myself!
Cara, my college in Convent, New Jersey had much of the ambience of your school, including lots of nuns. I love going back for reunions. Caro, my high school was regularly condemned by the fire department. Each year the nuns would make some small improvement and than then blind eyes were otherwise turned to the condition of the building. I drove by there recently for the first time in MANY decades and guess what? It is not a school any more, but the building is still there!!
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