I hate family reunions. I'm not the most extroverted person to begin with. Then you put me in a room with people I see only once every couple of years and I get tired of the repetitive conversation, the semi-familiar people, the visual recognition lacking names, and the claustrophobia of so many semi-strangers in the same space for a long time.
At the same time, especially as I get older, I think these reunions are important. As our American society and culture splinters, family can be a good bond. Whether at weddings or funerals, baptisms or the beach, when we gather together, tell stories, share updates, and enjoy food and drink, we create a culture of shared experiences and echo the familial ritual which is part of our DNA and human experience.
For good or for bad, our Archdiocese-wide meetings are family reunions.
We are so big - 200+ schools, 50k+ students that our bi-annual meetings have the same feelings of "wait who is this?" and "how many times must I repeat how my enrollment is going?"
BUT - there is a sense that no matter how redundant or irrelevant the topic or conversation, it can be an opportunity for the joy and ritual that a family reunion brings. For the Catholic Ed community - at the local, diocesan, national, or universal level is a family, a Communion of Saints. The struggles we have - to bring our students, parents, and staff - into a closer relationship with Christ transcend borders and time periods; even if our local issues of corruption, enrollment, abuse, et al. might be unique.
So - here's for dreading but ultimately enjoying our principal family reunions, even with our odd "uncles", cool "cousins," and that one relative you didn't even know existed. Here's to the sense that - in reality - thing's could be worse and we are doing "okay." Here's to mediocre coffee shared with colleagues. And here's to the hope that we can walk away appreciating the day, garnering 2-3 new ideas, and recharging to tackle another day back at our site.
