It was a joyful reunion on Saturday for a group of lifelong best friends from Gqeberha when they all reunited for the first time in decades.
Hugs, smiles, happy tears, laughter, and lots of conversation were the order of the day when the reunion took place at Old Austria restaurant.
The group of friends, all in their early 70s, met for the first time 66 years ago on their first day of grade1 at Sydenham Primary School.
The group of women formed a friendship almost instantly.
When it came time for them to leave primary school in grade 7 and they went off to various high schools, the bonds of friendship remained.
As the years rolled by members of the group married, had children, started businesses and some left the city or emigrated.
For some, contact dwindled until Isabel Schmidt organised a trip to support their beloved grade 7 teacher at her mother’s 90th birthday, in 2008.
The friendship was automatically reignited and they have remained in constant contact since, using WhatsApp as their preferred means of communication.
Schmidt decided that a reunion was long overdue, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic that had kept friends and family members apart.
Eleven of the 15 friends attended the reunion on Saturday. Eight have passed away and four are living overseas.
“From the minute we all walked through the door, we could not stop talking. We did have years of catching up to do, after all.
“We exchanged notes on where everyone was on their life paths.
“It was a very emotional but beautiful reunion. Life is short. We should all love and cherish one another,” Schmidt said.
From the conversations it also came to light that some members of the group had lost loved ones as a result of the pandemic.
Most of the women have been widowed.
One woman in the group became a pastor, another married a pastor, some were housewives and others successful businesswomen.
Schmidt jokingly said what they all had in common these days was the fact that they were pensioners.
She intends to further cement the bonds of friendship going forward and hopes the women can still be a support system for each other as they navigate life.
HeraldLIVE