High School Reunion

I just attended my 35th High School Reunion... as in... it's been 35 years since I Graduated... not the 35th time I have attended a High School Reunion.  :  )  I moved away from my home town right after I graduated, and other than visiting our parents and other family members, I haven't spent any time in that town since then... so it has been 35 years since I have seen any of my classmates.  I just can't believe 35 years have flown by this quickly... and I'm sure the next 25 will fly by even quicker.  Here are some observations from my experience of the 35th High School Reunion.

Jeffersontown High School Class of 1976 - Jeffersontown Kentucky

Thanks to Facebook, several of my high school classmates reconnected with me several months prior to the reunion date.  I was so excited for the weekend of my reunion to arrive and when I would meet up again with my classmates.  I wasn't sure exactly what to expect.... I figured it would go one of two ways... A) We would have such a great time we wouldn't get to bed until the wee hours of the morning because we just couldn't stop the conversation or break away from the party... or B) I would have the expectations of A) and would get a room full of the dullest people I ever would want to meet and not a single person I know or remember from high school... as in... the typical movie drama nightmare.  Fortunately I did indeed get the A) experience.

Our plane didn't arrive in time for us to take the school tour, but Joe and I caught up with the "Class of 7 6" at the tent set up for us at the end of the football field.  We never made it to the bleachers to watch any of the game... but I do know when I glanced up to see the score it was 32-0 in our favor.  GO CHARGERS!!!  After the game, the classmates and spouses/significant others met up at a pizza place and resumed our on field conversations.  My husband Joe also attended this high school, but graduated in the class before us in 75'... so he new most of my classmates and/or their brothers or sisters... it was a small town and most families had several children.  After the 'post game pizza party' we were invited to the 'after-after party' that was hosted in a classmates hotel room... it was a Ramada Inn Convention Center/Hotel and the pizza place was inside the Ramada Inn.  So... off Joe and I go to the much much smaller... and rowdier 'after-after party'.  I think that was when Joe and I had the most fun of the reunion weekend, was right there in that hotel room at the 'after-after party'.  It was a much more intimate setting... everyone was relaxed and on the tipsy side... everyone was in full swing of catching up with everyone else... where do you live, what do you do, how many kids do you have, how old are they, are they married, do you have any grandchildren... etc.

At least 60% of the classmates still live in or near our home town.  One classmate came all the way from Germany to attend the reunion, two came from California, we came from Kansas, and a few others came from several states away.  The "Popular Jocks, Cheerleaders, Student Government/Council... The It Group" still clustered together at the reunion, yet it's funny how life and years will even the playing field between the geeks, freaks and the "It's".  Most of the top 10% of successfulness came from the geek and freak group... most of the "It's" were just everyday normal folks... as in... married, grandparents or still raising teenagers, working hard, making a decent living, living a comfortable life.  And by the way... in high school I was a 'geeky mainstreamer'... I was in ROTC... which screams GEEK!!!!... but... I was also a Chargette (the dance squad that wore cheerleader uniforms)... which screams COOL!!!... so that made me a tweener.

Saturday everyone primped, gussed, and dressed up for the Reunion Dinner/Dance.  God Bless to whoever on the reunion committee who thought to put our high school photo's on our name tags!  That was AWESOME!!!!  AND.... the name tags hung from strings around our necks, not stuck or pinned onto our dresses/shirts.  We had a good turnout for the reunion and it was lots of fun to catch up with people who I had not seen in 35 years.  Some looked exactly the same... well... actually just a few... most looked somewhat close to their high school photo, but most had gone bald or gray, and most had put on several pounds.  Joe and I were again invited to attend the 'after-after party' at the same hotel room, but declined because we had an early flight out the next morning.  If we only knew then what we know now... we would have definitely stayed for the 'after-after party'.  We did leave early the next morning on a flight to Atlanta, where we would make a connection for Wichita.  The flight to Wichita got cancelled and we were unable to get another flight out on any plane to anywhere until the next morning... so we spent the rest of the afternoon and night in Atlanta... if we had attended the 'after-after party' and stayed up all night... we could have caught up on our rest in Atlanta.  Ahhh well... the vision of hind sight!  :  )

I stressed for months over getting in shape and figuring out just what to wear to look perfect for this reunion.  In the end I did not reach my goal weight and had to settle for something that was just hanging in my closet... but... I feel like I held my own at the reunion.  I wasn't the heaviest, I wasn't the thinnest, I was just like in high school... I was a main stream tweener... which I think is the most comfortable spot on the social chart.  I think everyone I talked to told me they also stressed out over getting in shape before the reunion!  There were several classmates I was sooo looking forward to seeing who did not attend, but it was wonderful to see all those who did attend and catch up with the past 35 years of their lives.  We all had such a fun time that another reunion is in the talks for 2016... I can't wait!!!!

"Still crazy after all these years"  The Class of 76' 35th Reunion!!!