Stop what is going through your head right now. Do not do the math. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Somehow, it was my 20th High School reunion last weekend, and though I couldn’t make the actual sit-down dinner on Saturday, we did manage to make it to the Friday night cocktail hour meet-and-greet at the Recovery Room in Amsterdam, NY. (And let’s face it, I’m more of the cocktail hour guy than the buffet dude.)
Two of my best friends from high school – who remain so to this day – stopped by my parents’ home, where we said hello and did some pre-gaming. Ann and Suzie joined Andy and I, along with my parents, my brother, and the twins for some reminiscing before we made our way to the Recovery Room.
Once there, I saw faces familiar and forgotten. FaceBook has made it slightly less surreal to see old schoolmates from two decades ago, but it’s still strange. In so many ways, I thought I would always feel like the kid I was in high school, and at our tenth reunion I felt that way a bit, but no more. The last ten years, which were in large part much more stable than the ten years before that, have changed me in ways that resonate more deeply when compared with my high school self. In the past, I cared a lot more what others thought (even if it wasn’t much, it was still more). This time around I simply enjoyed the moment, listening to what people were doing in their lives, laughing at what we had once done in the past, and discussing where we still wanted to go.
Of course with a support system like Ann and Suzie, it’s impossible not to have a good time. And for the next milestone number that rolls around we may just ditch the formal festivities and do our own reunion small and sweet. That’s all it’s really about anyway.
As for my classmates, most of them have only improved with age (or the ones that didn’t never made it to the meet and greet). Until the 25th, go Rams!
