Reunion Trip - Part One

There's so much to write about this trip that I don't know where to begin. First, where did we go: Kansas. Why: for me to attend my 30 yr high school reunion and to see my family for a quasi-family-reunion. Several family members had birthdays this weekend (including Katerina) so the plan (I thought) was to celebrate them all together.

Let's talk about the class reunion first. We met on Friday and Saturday night in Gardner. I was a little nervous about it as I had not seen anyone from my high school graduating class in 10 yrs (I went to our 20th). Plus, not having good memories of my senior year, I was not super excited about it.

I had a great time! I really enjoyed seeing everyone and got some good "vibes" in return. As I mentioned, my senior year in high school - actually my junior AND senior years - were two of the worst years of my life. Too long to write here (and way too personal) but believe me when I say it was a dark time in my life.

As a result, I left Gardner ASAP after graduating and never looked back. I completely blocked those years (and everyone in them) out of my mind. So going back is surreal...it's like going back to another lifetime.

But I really had a great time. The one person I was really happy to see was Steve Reimers. He and I had crushes on each other in high school and I think I still have one on him! But now, it's a different kind of crush - a "respectful" one, if that makes sense. He is just such a great guy and I have a tremendous amt of respect for him. We really connected and it was so nice to talk to him. We really re-connected.

And the other person I enjoyed seeing was Bob McCarthy. He was/is one of the most well-liked kids in my class. He's funny (and ornery) and an all-around nice guy. Kurt and i stayed after the reunion and talked with a group of people for a long time and Bob was one of them. My other good friend, Theresa, was there too and we just had a nice time talking with them.

Then on Sunday night, Bob asked us over to his house (he lives across the street from my brother). Theresa and Steve were there and so was Robyn and a few others. I stayed for 2 hrs while the kids swam in their pool. Just had a wonderful time.

The one nice thing about this trip is that Kurt had a good time meeting my high school classmates! He is not usually interested in meeting old friends of mine and originally, he was not happy about going on this trip. But he really connected with both Steve's (Wallace and Reimers) and he thought Bob was a great guy. That was a nice change - for Kurt to really enjoy meeting people from my past life.

More on the reunion in the next posting....