A Perfect Reunion

If you ask me what superpower I would love to have if given a choice, I will tell you without hesitation – time travel. No, I am not interested in jumping into the future; I can wait for whatever the future has in store and explore it as it comes, but I would give anything for a reunion with my favourite people, to go back in time.

To a time when I had zero cares in the world, and I had no responsibilities weighing me down, no expectations and pressures drowning me, and I could go wilding with my friends all day.

A time when Sue, Leti and Mandy could hop into my dorm room and drag me to that upbeat club downtown with no forewarning, but those days are now far behind us.

We are a group of four friends from college who haven’t been able to come together in one place in almost ten years. When I had my first baby last year, I had to make do with a group Skype call with the girls. We cackled for almost fifteen minutes until the Day Nurse came into my room and took my laptop away as I was supposed to be resting.

So, you can imagine my excitement when we finally planned the much-anticipated reunion. We were able to move our collective calendars around to create free time to be together. It was nothing short of a miracle. It was going to be super!

Sue is the bubbly party girl that skipped from one downtown club to another every weekend and dragged the rest of our clique with her. Mandy would tag along if there was the promise of alcohol. Even after several shots of bourbon, her eyes always remained crystal clear. ‘Leti was our chaperone; she would neither drink nor dance and remained on the alert, looking out for us, and driving us safely to our dorms. I was more of a ‘follower’ – I would do whatever the others wanted to do if we were going at it together.

For days before our reunion, I stayed up, tossing on my bed, imagining all the fun we would have on the beaches of Barbados – reliving our time as young girls and reconnecting on the path adulthood has taken us. We spent days on group calls deliberating on the perfect resort and the activities we planned to do during this reunion. We shopped online at the same stores so we could have some matching outfits. Mandy’s birthday was going to happen during our vacation. It was going to be one of the best times of our lives.

Then came the first wave of the COVID pandemic laughing us to scorn. Oh, I cried! We had to cancel our dream vacation. It was worse that there was nothing to fill up the free time. I had taken my leave from work and even if I decided to cancel that, I would still be working from home. The same old computer screens, yawning and fighting to stay awake during meetings. It was tough; I was sad and miserable and housebound.

Surfing the internet one morning while moping over my cup of tea, I came across Firacard. I was looking for a way to make Mandy’s birthday special. In previous years, I would send her expensive birthday gifts; but this year, I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something to help us create the sense of togetherness we would have shared at our reunion vacationing in our dream getaway location.

I was not sure how it would work out, but I was willing to try. So I registered and set to work creating a Firacard.

Without wasting time, I invited my friends and our old schoolmates to write in the Firacard, and after reading the mushy story of how our friendship was the best thing that had ever happened to me, they were all delighted to send warm wishes to Mandy.

The next day, I woke up to see that my friends had added multiple photos to mark the different stages of our friendship, photos, and videos of our days in university, and all the fun we had.

The Firacard was looking so good with all the messages, pictures, and videos in it, that I decided to invite some of Sue and Mandy’s family members. They also posted their favourite things about the celebrants; Mandy’s mum added the sweetest pictures from when Mandy was a kid.

Leti had set up a virtual party for Mandy and invited a lot of her friends and family. On her birthday, I played the Firacard as a slideshow and tough Mandy who never cries was in tears of joy! She was so delighted. The messages, pictures and videos played like a beautiful movie on the screen. I felt fulfilled. 

We were far apart yet brought close on a platform that connected our memories and present lives in such a beautiful way. Firacard gave us the perfect reunion, unexpected but totally perfect.

We keep waiting for when the world goes back to normal, but what if this is the new normal? I don’t mean to sound pessimistic, but I think we need to start accepting the things we can’t change so we can enjoy the present time in its fullness.

So, while I still dream of that girls’ trip someday soon, I am looking forward to the next time one of my friends or family has a special occasion because I plan to celebrate with them even if we are far apart.

My new catchword or phrase now is – living in this moment.  I want to be happy at this moment; to share beautiful memories at this moment. I want to celebrate important dates with my friends and family at this moment.

My realisation is that I have been postponing all the good and important things in my life lately. I’m done waiting! I’m set to use the principle Firacard has dropped in my lap to influence every other aspect of my life. 

I am living in the moment and creating a Firacard for every celebration, every birthday, every special occasion and even when there isn’t a special occasion. I am creating Firacards just because I can, just because I care about someone and I want them to know or remember.

Firacard has impacted strongly on me beyond its direct offerings. It has been a blessing discovering this platform, and I hope it helps others to launch another chapter on their journeys to self-discovery.

Louise – London

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