Thursday, September 18, 2008
Then & Now
The 20 year reunion was a lot of fun! And I'm so glad it all went well and smoothly and I didn't come across any drama. Ok, just a tiny bit of drama, but quickly diffused.I had the most fun with my friend, Carrie (hi again, Carrie!) It made my whole reunion that she could be there with me. See the picture from the post below for the "Then" picture of us, and this is us at the reunion, 20 years older and wiser. I think we're holding up quite well, thankyouverymuch!
The first night we both had some nervousness happening about the evening (seriously? I start getting crazy with the hairspray when I'm nervous. Stop already!) Carrie had shopped for and found a cute new outfit for the evening, and I wore the outfit I'd worn in Vegas that always makes me feel good about my appearance. It was a little surreal seeing everyone from high school again after 20 years, but I thought most people looked really good! Sure, the guys were balder and paunchier, but no one looked shockingly different. Except this one guy who had really long, wild, reddish hair back in high school and now wears it super short, rendering him unrecognizable. Completely. But probably because most of us never really saw his face in high school under all that hair! Anyway, we chatted with people, marveled at people, and in more than a few cases, talked with some people more that night than we ever had in high school. Which was really cool. People were willing to break out of the cliques and "comfort zones" and get to know others they never knew back then. They would "admit" to recognizing you from school, etc. but not really know you and then proceed to have a conversation. That didn't happen at the 10 year. Maturity is a beautiful thing.
The 2nd night (see picture above) was a little more dressy. Semi-formal, which is a designation I hate because it could mean anything! I tend to think of it as wedding guest attire. My sister had brought over a few dresses for me to look at and I went with the pink one you see above. I squeezed myself - literally! - into that dress but I was happy with how I looked (except my bangs need a trim - desperately!). I wore my hair up in a chignon and had some strappy black (tall!) sandals with heels. it worked. I got a lot of "OMG - you look EXACTLY the same!" comments over the course of the 2 nights. Which is nice to hear but makes me think I might need to update my look a bit.
Carrie and I had a wee bit of trouble with ex's. And both were ex's from sophomore year. Her ex wouldn't leave her alone. It was like he was stalking her! Another friend and I were shooting each other looks and feeling like we needed to rescue her or something. So we would manage to pull her away only to turn around and there he is again! Gah! My ex was my first "real" boyfriend and we did some stupid stuff that teenagers do in the flush of new romance. Some heavy stuff was dealt with and we moved on. He didn't "bother" me for the next 2 years of high school, and I didn't "bother" him. We were over it and each other. But at the reunion I heard from more than one person that, "it would make his day if you would talk to him." and "so-and-so really wants to talk to you tonight." etc. Whatever! I wasn't avoiding the guy or anything, but I wasn't seeking him out, either. I have no problem with him, but maybe he was shy or nervous about approaching me? I couldn't figure it out. So I simply walked up to him the 2nd night and gave him a hug and asked how he was doing. Like no big deal. Because it WASN'T. Turns out he's military, divorced, with 3 teenaged kids. His oldest is 17! He got started on his family YOUNG. I told him about me and what I've been doing, etc. and everything was FINE. No drama. But it was sure weird to be hearing about how an ex boyfriend was hoping to talk with you via intermediaries. The only thing missing was them passing me a note asking me to check off whether or not I'd speak with him, I swear. He didn't seem weird about me for the 2 years in high school following our breakup, but 20 years later (22, actually...) he's freaking out? Did he need closure? Reassurances? Whatever, I hope he got it from our brief, pleasant, innane conversation that touched on nothing of any importance or even hinted at the fact that we'd once gone out and all that crap that happened a million years ago. I wish him well.
And now that the reunion is over and I've strolled down memory lane, I'm back to my regular life and very grateful for the good life I have. I wouldn't go back to high school again if you paid me, and I wish I'd done a few things differently, but all in all, the experiences we've had in our past have shaped us to be who we are today, and I'm very happy about who I am and wouldn't change a thing.
// posted by MP @ 11:57 AM 
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