As Soul II Soul sang in 1989, “Back to life. Back to reality.”
(Yeah, I had to look that up. Both the date and the group. I’m just not that cool.)
Speaking of not being cool, I spent part of the long weekend driving with Cory to Philly for my 15 year High School reunion (yeah, count it – I’m old) sans kids.
I honestly loved high school. Not in the I-go-back-every-year-to-the-homecoming-game-with-a-cowbell-around-my-neck way, but I just really look back on those years fondly. Definitely not the easiest years to go through, but highly memorable. Cory once asked my best friend Alex (who went to both high school and college with me) if I was really popular in high school. He thought for sure I had to be. Cheerleader, captain of the softball team, well represented in the yearbook (probably because I was on the yearbook committee), kept in touch with a bunch of friends, entertaining stories about sneaking out of the house and getting in trouble…
I think she laughed. Thanks, Al.
It’s true, though. I was talking to my friend B at reunion about this and she agreed – we had our close friends, but didn’t really belong to just one group – we were friendly with everyone.
Out of a class of just under 300, there were roughly 1/3 in attendance at our reunion. I loved talking to all of them even more than at previous reunions. At our 5 year reunion, most of us were unmarried and enjoyed getting wasted and talking about our college lives. At our 10 year, many had gotten married or were in relationships and it was all about who worked where. At this one, it was funny to talk with people you once partied with about spit-up, colic and sleeping through the night.
Cory commented that I had 5 ex-boyfriends in attendance. I choose to call them old friends because most of them are more than just exes. I was one of those girls who always had a boyfriend. Not because I’m so fabulous, but because I always dated the guy I was best friends with at the time. It always just made sense to me as a natural progression of friendship. I told Cory I could have married any of them, he just happened to be my best friend when I was ripe for marriage. Lucky him! Just kidding.
Highlights of my conversations with the 5 ex-boyfriends:
1. My 6th grade boyfriend finally fessed up to why he dumped me out of the blue – another one of our friends made him do it. Way to go, peer pressure! It’s okay, we were 12.
2. My 7th/8th grade boyfriend and I sang a song that he wrote for me together as we walked out the door at the end of the night.
3. My 9th grade boyfriend who I was attracted to because he was a “bad boy” – long hair, leather jacket, smelled like Marlboros – now sells solar panels and does stand-up comedy while teaching yoga on the side. He was drinking Diet Coke while I was on my 4th shot.
4. My 11th/12th grade boyfriend and I shared a hug after having a falling out freshman year of college. I did some shady stuff that was really hurtful to him after senior year. He responded by trying to kill me accidentally on purpose on the Atlantic City Expressway later that year. He’s married now, so I think we’re okay.
5. My 12th grade/beginning of college boyfriend and I will always somehow stay in touch. He was at our wedding. I met his adorable wife, who I knew I would love even more than him, and she shared that the two of them read my blog. (I actually had quite a few people come up to me and say how much they enjoyed reading the blog. Facebook really is an insanely wonderful way to connect and reconnect, don’t you think?)
So the weekend was a success – not only did we have a great time, we got to listen to our own music in the car, chew our food during meals, take our time getting ready, hang out and drink with adults, finish our own sentences without interruption, stay in a hotel, sleep in and have a leisurely brunch. The rest of the weekend was spent with family celebrating my brother-in-law’s Birthday, playing board games (yes we’re total dorks), eating, playing, eating, sleeping and eating again with some shopping (and eating) thrown in.
Now I have to get ready for a party I’m hosting tonight. I have some friends coming who have their own businesses – accessories, clothes and more – and I’m having catering and wine. Come on over.
How was your Thanksgiving weekend?
