THE REUNION

OK. Some of you know that my hubby and I went to our high school class reunion. 20 years. Wow. I feel old....well, no, not really. I feel like I should feel older than I do.

Anyway, it was interesting to say the least. I grew up in a small town. We only had something like 65 people in our class. Out of those....maybe 30 made an appearance? I didn't count.

We got t-shirts with our school colors and school mascot. Some parts seemed like a giant mid-life crisis event. It was truly something to behold.

Thursday saw an unofficial start to the festivities. Those who had arrived in town were already settled into a hotel. My hubby and I didn't stay around too long, as we had the kids. And there were certain goings on that we didn't want the kids to have to witness. Protective? Maybe. I won't go into details about this night for the sake of some of my dear, dear friends. Suffice to say, it was a bit wild and crazy.

Friday - some of the guys got together and played golf. One of my friends and her 2 children came to where I was staying with the boys. Once lunchtime rolled around, we went to our classmate's mother's restaurant. Later that night, we went back to the hotel where the last night's friends, and more friends were gathered. My hubby took me to my favorite "sit down" joint to eat. It was yum!

We didn't stay as late as some. We had our own plans. I certainly won't go into details here. Let's just say that we had a hotel room and a babysitter for the boys. *HUBBA HUBBA*

Saturday saw the actual, organized event. We checked in to get the t-shirts. We went to the high school for a tour. How fun to see see the place I spent over half of my high school career....the band hall. After, we all met to have a lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs. We ran around to kill some time in the afternoon. That night, we had a dance. And in true *small west-Texas town* fashion, most people stood around drinking and yelling at each other and only started dancing about 11:00 p.m.

The reunion was much more interesting than it sounds. I got to reconnect with some old friends. I got to confirm (with some) why I never was their friend to begin with. I got to know some and wish I knew them better in school.

I saw some truly happy people. I saw some truly sad folk, too. I wanted to ask some of these people why they were the way they were. Being the preacher's kid, I guess I was a bit sheltered. But, I just can't imagine the "demons" that seemed to harass some of these people who were just returning to their hometown for the weekend.

I gained a new respect for some. I was disappointed in others. I felt sorry for those who seem to have not gone anywhere in their lives. I'm not talking about leaving town. There are many who are thriving in that same, podunk environment in which I was raised. However, some appear to be curled up and slowly dying.

There were some who were supposed to attend and didn't. Some who refused to attend because "so-n-so was mean to me." Really? I'm sorry. I don't get that. I mean, granted....maybe someone was mean to you. But, 20 years has a way of causing one to mature. Get over it.

Some of the people were still caught up in high-school cr@p. That is just sad. There was gossip. There was name-calling. There was booze....a whole lot of it. There *might* have been drugs...I have my suspicions. There was hookin' up and makin' out. Some people fawned all over others. Some people snubbed others.

I'm glad I went. I'm glad I'm home. I am thankful for the friends I do have....I plan to keep them. It was a great reality check.