As the day grew closer, I felt myself falling into the trap of not wanting to go. There were so many excuses! I had to drive all the way to Bayonne, I had to work the next day, there were things to do at home, the list went on and on. I had committed to going, however, so I got dressed (that was an adventure, I changed clothes 4 times before deciding on an outfit) and got in the car.
There were about 18 of us that showed up, and the wine and conversation flowed freely. (I didn't drink, I had Coke all night.) The majority of the girls were not the ones in my clique in high school, but we all got along greatly and there was no awkwardness. I found myself wishing I had been friends with them in high school...but perhaps we were all different people back then. The time for petty games was gone, and we bonded over things like struggles with money, recalcitrant husbands, and health issues. I discovered that our class of 1982 had conquered cancer; a few of us had passed away; some were struggling with cancer now; and we were all united in helping prevent our high school from closing. (Our school is in grave financial danger and one of our class almost singlehandedly took the reins and formed a committee to save the school.)
I discovered the class of '82 was resilient; hardworking, yet still self conscious. We have grown into strong, intelligent women and we are all proud of our accomplishments. I'm very glad I decided to go to this reunion, as I thoroughly enjoyed my evening and had to drag myself away after midnight. As the night was ending we all promised to get together again soon, even making it a yearly thing.
Perhaps the toast that I gave before dinner sums it up perfectly: "To old friends, renewed friendships, and to growing old gracefully!"
Posts
1 comment:
Rather interesting. I gave up on high school reunions years ago. Maybe the girl thing is different. I'm glad you had a great time. My connection to high school was goofy. I hung with NHS kids, alkys-- of which I was one, drug users--guilty of that. In college I had to write an essay in my Advanced Writing class on the statement "life is a lot like high school". I found that out to be depressingly true. They kicked me out of high school June of my senior year. Fresh out of rehab, I took the GED and passed it with scores high enough to get me into Rutgers. After taking the test, I realized I could have passed it after my sophomore year. A year later I flunked out of junior college mostly due to being on the wrong psychotropic med. Finally I graduated college in 1989. And continued in a succession of jobs I either could not hold or did not want. In 2004 I finally settled in to a job that I still hold. yeah life is like high school up and down.
Post a Comment