High School Graduation 1972

Yup, that’s me. Irene Pippi Onorato. I was seventeen years old in the picture.

1972 was a busy year for me. I graduated high school, met the love of my life, and got married.

For forty-three years, my high school yearbook lay packed in a box, first at my parent’s house, then at my brother and sister-in-law’s place. I thought about the old book from time to time, and sometimes wished I’d kept it so I could look through the pages and remember what my favorite English teacher, Mr. May, looked like.

This past Christmas, my brother and sister-in-law sent a box full of wrapped gifts for me to distribute to my grown kids, their spouses, and the grandkids. I never expected that the greatest gift of all would be lying unwrapped and slightly musty on the bottom of the box. (Get ready to smile.) My yearbook.

Irene Pippi – plans to become a writer. The inscription under my  photo brought me to tears. I had a dream.

In 2015 I signed a contract with one publisher for three books, and another publisher for one book. What are the chances that my yearbook would be reunited with me that very same year, reminding me that I’d fulfilled my dream? Slim to none?

Coincidence or fate? You choose.