My 20 Year High School Reunion

Just in case anyone thought I was young...well, I'm not! My 20 year high school reunion is in a few weeks. The invitation arrived on Friday, and I've been sick to my stomach ever since. Who would have thought that the awkwardness of high school would haunt me 20 years later.

By many measurements, one would think I was a "popular kid." I was in cheerleading, student council, honor society, choir, yearbook and newspaper staffs. I was involved in school activities and hung out with lots of different groups of kids. At one point, I knew the names of all the 370 kids in my graduating class, and the names of many people in the school.

I bring this up, not to prove how cool I was, but to demonstrate that everyone...even the kids who appeared to have it all together, felt awkward and uncertain. Some were just better at hiding it than others.

In my 20-years-post-high-school-life, I don't really care how popular my neighbors and friends were in high school. People change. Life happens. We grow and learn. While I'm interested in who they are as people, I don't really care about which clique they fit into in high school. It's just so....high school... to even care. Who they were 20 years ago definitely wouldn't change my opinion of who they are today.

So, why am I so worried what my classmates will say about me? Why do I care that I'm a good 25-30 lbs overweight and wrinkled? Why am I so worried about what people will think about me when all I really want to know is if my classmates grew up to be happy, productive members of society? Do they have kids? What do they do for fun? Where to they live? How do they earn their living? I'm really not worried about that little number printed on the inside of their clothing label. And, I try to convince myself that they aren't concerned with the fluctuations of my scale either.

To seque to writing....I tried to buy Prom last week. It was on the very top shelf with a sign instructing the consumer to request assistance to get the book off the shelf. Uh...that works well when you have one kid in a stroller screaming and a four year old who suddenly decides she needs to go potty. So, wish me luck. We have another book store outing planned later this week.

Who knows, maybe my high school memories will develop into something worth writing about.

Another thought--my friend's grandmother passed away last week. Friend's children were so grown up about it all. Their observations and behavior were precious and I think there's a picture book in there!