A leap of faith to a time of my past

After much debate, I decided to take a leap of faith and attend an all school reunion for the high school I graduated from. I was concerned about so many people and classes being thrown together, however, after attending...I have decided it was the most sensible thing to do. 73 years of classes, the oldest Alum being from the class of 1934, all the way to the class of 2013.

While many of my graduating class neglected to show up, those of us that did...enjoyed catching up. A big part of those there were there were from out-of-state. There were 4 from Missouri, 1 from Arizona, 1 from California, and 1 from Oregon. There were 9 that lived local. I was thrilled to see so many from other classes that I was friends with. My dear husband was introduced to so many that I'm pretty certain he will never remember all the names! My best friend came out and we discussed so many memories from our high school years. So many times we got in trouble for things that happened that were not planned, and some that were. Caught up with several that I had been talking to online and had really enjoyed getting to know again. 1 person I hadn't seen since moving to Missouri, 16 years ago, and was so thrilled to see again.

In the weeks leading up to this reunion palooza, I really questioned why you would have an all school reunion. Having the pleasure of attending, I can't imagine having anything else. What I expected would be a complete cluster, turned out to be fairly organized, several bands donated time, several of the area restaurants were there to have food on site, and it was an outstanding event!

Making the time to revisit a piece of my past that I try to avoid, was a bit of an undertaking. Emotionally, it was a struggle. This was the first trip back to my home town since one of my friends past away. It was quite a difficult time keeping my emotions in check. Our class has lost 5 members over the years. I was fortunate enough to see the parents of my dear friend, those I refered to as mom and dad also. They were another set of parents who I still love to death! Making the trip to my home town is about a 5 hour trip. It's physically not that far, but far enough to be taxing. It is far enough to have to plan for a visit months in advance. Mentally, it's a challenge since my husband is not from there. I know he does not enjoy being up there, and he does not have many common interests with those I grew up with. So balancing the emotional side, and the desire to reconnect is always a struggle. My husband was a real trooper though. He mingled with me, talked and visited with so many, and even acted as though he enjoyed himself. Whether he did or not, he made sure I enjoyed myself.

While I didn't do all that I had hoped for, I did enjoy a relaxing time. I didn't make the catfish days in a neighboring town or a picnic by the river...but there's always next time.

Very happy I went and really enjoyed seeing old friends.