Class Reunion

I just returned from a high school class reunion.  It was a blast!  This was the third reunion I've attended, and each time it's a little different.  The first one was not too long after graduation, and it was a bit like an extension of high school.  People tended to kind of hang around with their high school cliques, reliving their glory days.  A few even tried to assert social dominance like they did in school.  It wasn't exactly bullying; it was more like bragging and exaggerating accomplishments.  At that reunion, I appreciated my friends and welcomed new real connections with classmates that had moved past high school, but the primary feeling I left with was contempt for the high school elite who wanted nothing more to relive their glory days and brag.

The second reunion I attended was another milestone reunion, and I saw a significant change in my classmates.  While we did focus on catching up with our close high school friends at first, we also quickly engaged with classmates we knew but didn't necessarily hang out with a lot.  There was still reliving of the glory days by those who had peaked in high school, but for the most part, we had collectively moved past those days.  The ones who wanted to relive the glory days kind of ended up in a corner, talking amongst themselves, while the rest of us enjoyed getting reacquainted and sharing life stories.

This reunion essentially saw the complete disappearance of high school drama and hang-ups.  Yeah, there were still one or two people who had peaked in high school trying to relive the glory days, but they were essentially ostracized.  They'd kind of insert themselves into random conversations, make one or two comments that were ignored, and they'd move on to the next group.  It was kind of pitiful, except for the fact that they brought the reactions themselves based on their behavior.

We spent a lot of time at a local sports bar, which was okay, but not ideal.  It was great because it was big enough to fit everyone, and it offered food and beverages for everyone, but it was kind of loud.  But there was an underlying understanding that we wanted to ensure that we made the event free to attend, so that nobody was excluded for financial reasons.  The bar scene also provided ample opportunity to mingle.

We toured our local high school, which recently had a massive upgrade and expansion to the athletic center.  There was a new swimming pool and a new indoor track and field center, both of which were spectacular.  It's unfortunate that this is being built at a time when school enrollment is falling due to declining birth rates, but them's the breaks.

The older (academic) part of the building was much as we remembered it, though many of us commented that things felt smaller than when we were kids.  For me, the band room in particular brought back a lot of nostalgia, because that's the single area where I spent the majority of my time.

It was awesome to see a lot of people I hadn't seen since graduation, and it was great to catch up with everyone (aside from the one or two reliving their glory days.)  It was also wonderful to know that most of us had moved on.  I had one classmate ask me point blank if I'd go back.  I said no, I'd choose a lot of other points in my life to revisit, but not high school, adding on that I pitied those who peaked in high school.  She fully agreed, and we had a moment.

None of that, however, was my favorite part.  For me, the best part was catching up with my second set of parents.  I stayed with the parents of my friend Greg.  For those of you who don't know (or don't recall,) Greg was my best friend for years and years.  We knew each other since sixth grade, and we were inseparable until he committed suicide a bit under 11 years ago.  I've always loved, respected and appreciated his parents, and it was a no-brainer to ask if I could stay with them during the reunion weekend.  I made a point to spend time with them each day, and spending time with them was the highlight of the weekend.

If you're a regular reader, you know that my relationship with my parents is... strained.  That's a side note to this story, but I felt the need to bring this up for anyone who wondered why I didn't stay with them.  My main point is this:  I am blessed.  Within the last month, I was able to attend two reunions with two completely separate groups of people who had an outsized impact on my life -- my Marines, and my high school classmates.  I have a pair of chosen parents that I love and value just for who they are, not because I owe it to them.  I have a great wife who happily joined me, even though neither group is "hers."  And these friends accepted her for who she is, without reservation.