My 30th high school reunion is coming up this Friday.  We'll be loading up the car and heading south for the 8 1/2 hour trip on Thusday.

Sometimes I wonder why I am going.  I had a rough time in school.  I was one of the outcasts, riding the rim of a society made up of other kids.

My friends were also outcasts.  We grew up in a town which was very much class-driven.   If your father was not a doctor, lawyer, or the like--or your mother was not a teacher, you were not as good as other children.  Oddly enough, those people whose fathers worked for the railroad were lumped together with the professionals.  You see, the town was founded as a railroad town and almost owed its existance to that industry. 

My friends and I clug together, enduring school, rather than enjoying it.  So why do I want to go back?  Mary, my best friend in school, refuses to.  She says that reunions are not "her thing."  I respect her decision.  If circumstances were different, I would probably feel the same way.

When we had our 10 year reunion, I (had almost accidently) found myself on the radio.  It was never something I had planned to do for a living.  I had gone to college to become a reporter.  I was a senior before I woke up and realized that reporting was the wrong choice for me.  But by the time I quit school, I had had several semesters at the school radio station.  Even then, it didn't occur to me to try that profession.  At that moment, I just wanted to get a job--any job--to pay off school loans.  While working unhappily in the sewing machine section at Mongomery Ward, I listened to an ad on the radio in the nearby electronics section.  This station was recruiting anyone.  Well, I was anyone.  So I applied.  I later learned that it was the absolute worst station in the area.  But that was okay.  I made all my worst broadcasting mistakes at a station where almost no one heard them.  Time went by and I got much better, and moved to other jobs.  In time, I became a respected member of the broadcasting community.

So there was some degree of satisfaction in going to that first reunion.  The girl whom people had looked down their nose at, had become the girl people heard on their radio.  That felt great; to be recognized as a person, finally.  On the other hand, the recognition felt funny.  Inside, I was still the same person I had always been.  Why did they look at me funny, with those glazed-eye expressions?  I hadn't actually done anything to deserve the recognition.  I just went to work and did my job.  It's not like I did anything all that useful, like fixing toilets or curing the common cold.  (If you think fixing toilets is not being useful, then you haven't had a broken one lately.)

Now by the time my second reunion had rolled around, I had married, moved to another state, and had two kids.  That was also an achievement for the person no one (including myself) thought was going to get married.  It's amazing how quickly the Lord can turn your life around and make things happen once you finally surrender your life to Him. 

It's time for my third reunion.  I am living two states away.  I live in the country.  My nearest town is much smaller than the one I grew up in.  (And that's ironic because as a child, I wanted to leave and never live in a small town again.)  I am raising children while most of my classmates have grandchildren.  I am almost sure I was the only one to have homeschooled. 

I have had a good life.  And I have more adventures to come.  And I'll bet it's the same for the rest of them.  The ones who didn't stray far from home will have more common experiences than those who moved off.  Yet because 30 years have passed, we are mostly strangers to each other.  Yes, we grew up together.  But that seems like a lifetime ago.  Or maybe it's because I have forgiven everything. 

Those who still have a hard heart about old wounds don't realize that they are only hurting themselves.  Have you ever seen that movie Grosse Point Blank?  It's a dark comedy about a hit man coming home to his class reunion.  I personally find it amusing that the hit man comes to town and finds his old girlfriend is a DJ.    (No I don't know any hit men.)  Anyway, there is a point in the movie where the main character encounters a drunk classmate who keeps trying to pick a fight.  The hit man tells the drunk, (paraphrasing) "What do you mean there is something between us?  There is no 'us.'   Anything that went on in school is long gone.  I don't even know you any more."

I am going back for the same reason people finish reading novels.  They want to know what happened.  Well, I want to know what happened to ole so-and-so.  I want to know who moved away, who stayed, and who moved away only to move back.  I want to go and tell them the story of my life.  And I want to listen to the story of their lives.  And when it's over, while the glow of fellowship is still making me smile, I'll come back to Oklahoma and be glad that I am here.  I have had a good life.  And I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Posted by callmekate

Sounds like you've got a healthy attitude about seeing your old classmates. And I agree about wanting to know what happened to ______. I've only attended one reunion, my 5 year, and we were just starting out in life, nothing much had changed. Then I got married and move out of state, just a few weeks prior to my 10 year. Then I was pregnant or nursing an infant with the 20th and 25th years. So, now I'm curious if there will be a 30th year because I think I could attend that one (year 2011)!

You have had an interesting life! I hope you enjoy the trip and have fun seeing those old classmates. I'll bet your life has turned out the best of all of them - you can hold your head high and smile, for a lot of reasons!

Enjoyed your post.
Kate