Hey divorced loser, should you go to your high school reunion?
In the airport, just back from my high school reunion. At first, I was too afraid to attend. What kind of judgement would I find? I envisioned everyone else’s perfect life and how much crappier mine looked in comparison.
Do I dare go back home when my life was in the midst of all this ending of a marriage chaos? Would I be the only kinda-divorced-kinda-single person, surrounded by classmates with doting spouses and neat tidy lives?
Know what I learned? Get over yourself because nobody gives a crap anymore. Your petty overinflated paranoia of judgement is so 20 years go. These people had battled illnesses. Some had lost a spouse. Guys had lost hair. Everyone had probably put on a few pounds and gained some neck waddle. And nobody gave a rat’s ass. My worries about appearing “perfect” seemed so sitcom crazy.
There were only 60 of us out of a class of 500 who attended, but the 60 that showed up were fierce. Fighters. Survivors. Our lives were so different than we imagined. These people were way past judging.
These were my people. These were the people I grew up with. We made mistakes together; bad hairstyles, bad perms and teenage acne. We went to football games together on cool Fall nights, cheering ourselves hoarse. We went to Homecoming dances in the High School cafeteria, wearing puffy taffeta dresses and getting our hears broken. We ate our weight in McDonald’s french fries and late night Taco Bell drive thru. Instead of the judgement that I thought I might find there in that small town ballroom, I found nothing but love and acceptance. No one cared about my relationship mistakes and failures. They only cared that I was there. And as we danced ourselves silly to Atomic Dog once more time, I was home.
So if you are thinking of not attending your high school reunion because your life isn’t “perfect” enough? Don’t be all crazy paranoid. GO. Trust me, you’ll have a wonderful time. (
(Go Zebras!)
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