Choices

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Every day humans are making choices. Choices about where we live, what we do for work, where we go for play. We choose how we think, feel, and what we do and say. We make choices about our beliefs. This weekend, like many, was full of choices.

It has been fifty years since the class I would have graduated with completed high school, and last night was the class of BHHS Class of 1068 Reunion. One of the choices I made was not to attend. We did go to Babe’s (that bar holds a lot of history for a lot of us) on Friday night for the pre-reunion party. I enjoyed very much connecting with one woman I did not remember from school. She is a clinical therapist. I am anything but….

She shared her foreboding of her father’s death in an auto accident. She even knew where it would happen, and asked her dad not to go there. He said, “I am a good driver,” and he went anyway.

I told her, “Now, that is the sort of thing my life is full of.” I started keeping a journal 50 years ago to prove to myself I was not making up knowing things. We are participating in an experience called life that is more connected and less limited by time and space than we can comprehend.

We exchanged contact information and I hope we do follow up. It is my sense we have a lot to offer one another…

Rather than attending the reunion, Saturday evening I was enjoying a fabulous low-carb dinner with an intimate group who know me well and love me.

After dessert we played “Catch Phrase” which has been a favorite family game for years. I told the group about my mother-in-law having played the game with us one time in Tennessee. ‘Goldfish’ was the word she was trying to get her team to say. Her first clue was, “It’s orange, and it’s in a bowl.” That is a really good clue.

Unfortunately, that was her only clue. She would say it over and over, more and more slowly. “It’s o-r-a-n-g-e and it’s in a b-o-w-l.” She would say it over and over, more and more loudly. “IT’S ORANGE AND IT’S IN A BOWL.” We were all relieved when the buzzer went off and put us out of our misery.

One lesson worth learning about our choices is the importance of living free from regret. I have enjoyed looking at the photos posted from last night’s reunion this morning. It looks like those who went had a good time. I did recognize some faces and some names but it was a class of close to 500 and I did not know most of the people. I sincerely appreciate the choice I made to not attend.

Moments after I shared the story about my mother-in-law’s goldfish clue-giving fiasco, it was time for our host to give the clue.

He looked at the word briefly, smiled broadly, and said simply: “It’s orange, and it’s in a bowl.”

The entire table yelled out in unison, “Goldfish!”