Sunday, December 24, 2006 Lim: Silver Jubilee By Melanie T. Lim Wide Awake
PREPARING for one’s Silver Jubilee has been a humbling experience for me.
Admitting to the fact that I graduated from high school 25 years ago was one of the first acts of humility I was compelled to undertake. This just seemed to seal my 12-year’s niece’s impression that I am not just old—I am practically at death’s door.
It is a challenge to get everyone excited for this once-in-a-lifetime event. Though we have enough eager beavers in the batch to make up for those who choose not to answer our e-mails, text messages and calls, there are still a few wishy-washy people we fervently pray will finally grow up after 25 years.
But I am humbled by the fact that so many of my batchmates are working tremendously hard to make things work. Despite the few who give us occasional problems, the majority are a hard-working lot who have opened their homes, put their lives on hold and sacrificed time, energy and money to make this event an unforgettable one.
We hope to come together not just to touch base with old friends but to help others through our collective efforts. And yet, despite our intentions to give back to the community, we have also ambitiously sought to regain the abilities we once had 25 years ago.
In the past two months, we have dragged our tired, old bodies to the dance studio to attempt to do what we used to do so well 25 years ago. No, there are no plum prizes for putting up a decent show—just glory or humiliation on public TV. We don’t imagine we can appear like professionals. But we do want to convince 12-year olds that the over 40 group may be over the hill but they’re not over with their lives just yet.
We may no longer be able to move our bodies like we could 25 years ago but at least, we can still move them. And although our bodies are considerably less attractive than they were before, isn’t it amazing how much more confident we are today than 25 years ago?
We didn’t grow more beautiful through the years. We didn’t discover the solution to fighting gravity where our bodies are concerned. And we certainly didn’t uncover the secret to the fountain of youth. But perhaps, we discovered the secret to staying happy despite the lines and the bumps.
Agonizing over the dance steps a few weeks ago, a batchmate remarked. “Why was this so easy to do before?” “Well,” I told her, “I guess because that was 25 years and 25 pounds ago.”
Registration starts at four. Mass follows at five, dinner at six. Show begins at seven in the evening. Two Cathay Pacific round-trip tickets for Hongkong-Cebu-Hongkong will be raffled off to attending alumnae. Tickets at P399 per person are available at Mail and More (Ayala, SM, Banilad Town Center) and Vision Care (69 Juan Luna St. Tel. No. 255-8773 or 253-0652). You may also call Sharon at 0922-6652825 for details.
The Sacred Heart School-Hijas de Jesus 50th Grand Homecoming on December 29 at the Grand Convention Center. Don’t miss it for the world.
