Reunion
Landing in Atlanta at 5:25 pm Friday afternoon and flying out to DFW at 4:35 pm Sunday afternoon made for a very short weekend. It wasn't even a full 48 hrs. in the Peach State. So, what warranted me being there? What caused me to leave Waco on one of the busiest weekends this fall? What was so important that I would travel such a distance for such a short period of time? The answer: the long awaited, much anticipated, carefully contemplated, often dreamt of, and some times dreaded 10 year high school reunion! (That and time with the parental unit, of course.)
The evening of the reunion went a little something like this: Friends whom I have kept in touch with decided to meet early and attend the event together. At first I questioned why we should feel compelled to do this, seeing as though we are all adults and fully capable of showing up to a social gathering by ourselves (unlike the teenagers we use to be and the ones I know and love today). But this turned out to be a good idea - it helped make the evening more relaxing knowing that I was among friends. Some of them were very excited about the reunion, which helped me to look forward to it as well. Stephanie bothered to ask me who it was that I really hoped to see that night. Sadly, I could think of no one. Not that I wasn't curious to see old classmates and find out what they were doing, but high school was such a long time ago. I have changed a lot since days of flirting with boys with a ditzy laugh and wanting to be known by all. How much could you really get to know someone again in the course of an evening?
Our small party marched into the Marriott hotel expecting to see dozens of old friends running out to meet us. Instead we found a small table outside a corner ballroom staffed with unfamiliar faces. They took each of our names and gave us a name tag with our senior picture on it. Then the fun began - greeted by two guys I haven't seen since graduation night at MHS, both sharing hugs and warm hellos. Scanning the room I recognized very few people. There were not many people there even though we arrived fashionable late. We found a table and sat together. Some made a trip to the bar for a drink. I opted for water (to begin with). I hit the food buffet with some disappointment. I did not load up my plate because I did not want to be a pig.
I spoke with many people during the course of the evening. The conversation was pretty much the same - warm greeting, mention of where we each are living, whether or not we are married and/or have children (in which case an introduction to a spouse and/or showing of pictures of infants would take place), a pause in the conversation, and then a question from one of us as we try to keep the conversation going while scanning the room to see if there is a person whom we have not spoken to. Many people asked about my mom since she was the favored French teacher. After the fourth person asked about her I began to think that I should have brought her with me! It wasn't a wasted night but it could have been better. I was really ready to leave by the time we walked out the door. What can I say, except, I should have followed Tiffany's lead!
The evening of the reunion went a little something like this: Friends whom I have kept in touch with decided to meet early and attend the event together. At first I questioned why we should feel compelled to do this, seeing as though we are all adults and fully capable of showing up to a social gathering by ourselves (unlike the teenagers we use to be and the ones I know and love today). But this turned out to be a good idea - it helped make the evening more relaxing knowing that I was among friends. Some of them were very excited about the reunion, which helped me to look forward to it as well. Stephanie bothered to ask me who it was that I really hoped to see that night. Sadly, I could think of no one. Not that I wasn't curious to see old classmates and find out what they were doing, but high school was such a long time ago. I have changed a lot since days of flirting with boys with a ditzy laugh and wanting to be known by all. How much could you really get to know someone again in the course of an evening?
Our small party marched into the Marriott hotel expecting to see dozens of old friends running out to meet us. Instead we found a small table outside a corner ballroom staffed with unfamiliar faces. They took each of our names and gave us a name tag with our senior picture on it. Then the fun began - greeted by two guys I haven't seen since graduation night at MHS, both sharing hugs and warm hellos. Scanning the room I recognized very few people. There were not many people there even though we arrived fashionable late. We found a table and sat together. Some made a trip to the bar for a drink. I opted for water (to begin with). I hit the food buffet with some disappointment. I did not load up my plate because I did not want to be a pig.
I spoke with many people during the course of the evening. The conversation was pretty much the same - warm greeting, mention of where we each are living, whether or not we are married and/or have children (in which case an introduction to a spouse and/or showing of pictures of infants would take place), a pause in the conversation, and then a question from one of us as we try to keep the conversation going while scanning the room to see if there is a person whom we have not spoken to. Many people asked about my mom since she was the favored French teacher. After the fourth person asked about her I began to think that I should have brought her with me! It wasn't a wasted night but it could have been better. I was really ready to leave by the time we walked out the door. What can I say, except, I should have followed Tiffany's lead!
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