Random Reunion Ruminations

Romy & Michelle? Not so much.

I skipped my 10-year high school reunion because they planned it for Katie's exact due date -- rude! I went to the 20th with my sister Karen, since we were conveniently in the same graduating class. We didn't have to worry about anyone becoming roadkill on the trip down memory lane. That was good, because to our soda-sober eyes it seemed like a lot of the non-classmates at the reunion (spouses, etc.) were efficiently drinking the boredom away.

Anyway, tooling around Minneapolis on a brief nostalgia tour was fun, but the reunion itself was a disappointment. Here is why:

One of our high school friends was getting married the week after the reunion, so several of the guys from our group were flying in for that and had decided against both. The groom actually lived in town, but declined to attend since he was seeing his best buddies the next week anyway. So, half of the people we hoped for were out. Boo!

The invite said casual.  I knew some people want to dress up a bit for these things (who you trying to impress?) but wasn't feeling the dress myself.  The invite mentioned hotel bar and patio, so I wanted to believe the casual part. It was Minnesota - muggy - hot summer so I opted for capri pants, sandals, and a ruffled linen wrap shirt and a bit of jewelry. Karen was a little more casual in linen shirt and pants. Turns out most of the women ignored the casual and were in dresses or shiny outfits -- of course, the men were casual. LAME call on the dress code, people.

I am not sure who came up with the brilliant plan of holding the reunion in a hotel bar? I blame the event planner, not our friend the class president. Crowded, hot, LOUD. Not a great place to hold a reunion for people who may want to reminisce/catch up on 20 years of stuff. Did I mention our graduating class had almost 800 people in it? Of course, only a fraction of that attended. Meeting in the cafeteria at the school would have been more accomodating, kitschy fun.

The people watching was good. There were just enough characters and accompanying commentary to make it interesting. We got to see some of our favorites, and there were few awkward moments. I was happy to find some mellowed and improved with age, and sad to see an obviously angry man whose high school experience must have been harder than I realized. But for the most part, people seemed to be pretty much the same people they were in high school.

I don't know what I was expecting, but next time I hope to expect less and enjoy more.