check it off/high school 20 years later

ok, so i was a geek in high school. really that will come as no surprise to those of you who know me, even without knowing about my favorite high school activities: debate, journalism, junior achievement.

then why the heck would i even bother going back to california for my 20th high school reunion?
was i looking to get shoved into a locker?
tormented by jocks?
mocked by the popular girls?

nope.

i was just curious how everyone and everything i left behind ended up. after having left the bay area some 11 years ago, i was just plain nosy. yes, despite the bad karma, i wanted to see who the years were not kind to.

i also wanted to know who turned out ok.

surprisingly, the results were all good.

it was not boring. it was not lame. it was not a total disaster with wall-to-wall cliques. i didn't leave early. the husband didn't roll his eyes, well, at least that much, mostly because he tipped a waitress and was guaranteed an endless supply of wine. (good on ya!) not that many spouses came, but as usual the husband didn't care -- he's great in any crowd.

it was fun. it was a one-night-only step back in time. i'm glad i went, despite being exhausted from working too much, stressing about the week to come and having some whirlwind travel.

i've already received a number of emails saying how nice it was to see me at the reunion and they appreciated how far i came to attend.

but while that's all sweet, what surprised me the most was how nice the people i didn't even really know from 20 years ago were. and interesting too.

i spent a fair amount of the evening introducing myself to people because i wasn't sure they knew who i was, but they all seemed to. don't think to credit the name tags because they were the lanyard kind, you know, the ones that hang down to a person's crotch. nice.

i hope a couple of classmates keep in touch. but i won't be devastated if they don't.

for just that one night breakfast club-esque night, we were all having fun together, the geeks, the stoners, the jocks, the losers, the popular girls, the punks, the posers. we drank the wine made by our classmate's winery. we took lots of photos. we exchanged business cards and promises to visit.

i won't be back for the 25th or any of the ones to come after that. once was more than enough for me. i couldn't even handle the 3 nights of reunion fun. just one.

still, i'll check that experience off the life to-do list. and that's all right with me.