I came, I saw, I conquered. Or, you know, I pulled up in my Focus wagon, hauled out two cute little kids as distracting props, and held my head high despite distinct insecurities.
It was fine, you guys. The dreaded Boyfriend wasn't even there (though I found out later that he WAS in town, he just decided at the last minute not to come. I am sincerely, guiltily hoping it wasn't for fear of seeing me.) About three fourths of the class showed up, and quite a few have gotten married, considering how young we still are. There were lots of little kids running around, and lots of adults standing around lamely with sweating plastic cups in our hands, complaining about the humidity and telling our story ("so I ended up dropping out of college...")half a dozen times as we made the rounds.
It's funny how little changes. Astonishing, even. Sitting there eating, it felt like being in the lunchroom with these people again. Same seating partners, same loud, cackling girls at one end of the table, while the quiet girls and the smart girls and the shy girls roll their eyes at the other end.
Since there was no drinking, the party was slow to take off. A few people milled around reluctantly, but most stuck to the same people they already talk to once a week. But after a while the need to impress/avoid one another wore off, and that old high school vibe returned. UNFORTUNATELY. There was a mofo WATER BALLOON FIGHT, people, complete with drenched tee-shirts and maniacal giggling and breasts a-bouncing as their owners fled the onslaught of BOYS!!! chasing them. Guess which end of the table instigated that one.
Addy had a hysterical meltdown when the first balloon got smashed, and clung to me, sobbing real tears, for the duration. "No hit!" she managed to choke out occasionally, glaring accusingly at the screaming balloon wielders as though she were viewing Saving Private Ryan and not good old fashioned summer fun. So I ended up stuck in a corner for quite a while, calming her down, but I did have a genuine and pleasant conversation while there, so it ended well.
Mostly, I just left feeling SO HAPPY that I am where I am right now, with the family I have. I feel like I literally dodged a bullet.
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10 comments:
No water balloons, but my reunion was the same. Same people with the same peple, doing the same thing, just 10 years later.
Wow, not so bad then. My class has never had a reunion. I live far enough away (and so do any friends that I still slightly keep in touch with) that it's not a big deal anyway.
Wow, Addy is so opposite of Zachariah with things like that. Just today Zac got his first fun with a water balloon. We let the kids where I tutor have them, and he walked right out into the middle of the action. Then I gave him a balloon. He broke it and just got a tiny wet and ran right over to me. I thought oh boy, here we go. But he said "More balloon, Mom". Ha! We gave him another one and he was so sad he couldn't get it to break.
Yay! Congrats on dodging the ex-boyfriend bullet! You were smart to bring along the cute props.
Just out of curiosity: I can't imagine you were a "cackling girl" so would you categorize yourself with the ..... quiet girls? smart girls? shy girls? none of the above?
Well, I'm glad you didn't have to deal with any uncomfortable confrontations.
At least you don't have to deal with the stress again for another 5 years, if you choose to attend the next reunion.
I can't believe that the sobbing child didn't remind these people that HIGH SCHOOL IS OVER and WATER BALLOON FIGHTS ARE INAPPROPRIATE. My god.
Even though I was pretty popular in high school, I don't think I'll ever go to a reunion because I hate reminiscing about the good old days with people I haven't seen in 16 years.
Ha Ha where was the reunion? The gym? You need to call me and tell me all about it.
You are so brave! I hate even the thought of a reunion with kids I went to school with. They probably wouldn't even know who I am. Which is an adult version of the poorly dressed skinny girl who was terribly shy. Cept I am not so shy anymore, or poorly dressed either, or so I like to think.
Glad it went well! I left my reunion with the exact same feeling.
Good lord, a water balloon fight?! Hmmm, I'm guessing that the people who started that don't have any kids, because they're still the kids themselves?
You haven't been out of school long enough for things to have changed, I think. Not that I would know from experience, since I avoid my reunions like the PLAGUE.
You are SO brave! And kudos on bringing the kids as a deflector shield!
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