Hey… you!

I went to my 10-year class reunion this weekend.  It wasn’t that bad.  I remembered all the names!  I didn’t have to call anyone “you” or “dude” or “buddy” – not even once!  And I didn’t even have to rely on those stylish nametags we all wore!  Some of those nametags had stickers on them, and some did not.  At first I thought we were like Sneetches, but after some consideration, I decided that the people with the stickers on their nametags had  “donated” or something…

One of my best friends from my class wrote a little dramatic rendering of his (and others’) memories of those years and the years between.  It was sweet and funny.

And then he ended it with some kind of thought-provoking whathaveyouaccomplishedsincethen buzz kill.

So then I was sitting around musing over what I’ve accomplished.  And until recently, it really wasn’t much.  I mean, I had one REALLY crappy job selling $130 jeans to tweens.  That’s tough on a girl who is living on blue box mac & cheese.  Then I had a crappy job in the banking biz (albeit with some great folks).  I had some notion that corporate life would be really great, but I think I just like suits and cute shoes.  I also sold cars.  Like, 6 of them.  In a year.

Not my calling…  Finally, I struck that delicate balance of “job I’m good at” and “nearly covers my expenses” and I’ve been doing that for a good while now.  Check.

One serious, super-nice-guy boyfriend.  I know, so wrong for me!  He’s doing great things in other places now, and that’s great.  One blind date – lived with his parents at 33.  Next!  And one friend-turned-coworker-turned-nemesis-turned-husband.  Check check.

It’s funny because my husband HAS THAT HAT…

My 7th grade self was pretty sure I’d be married by 23 and have kid #1 shortly thereafter.  I’ve never been punctual.  Married at 29 and two-thirds of a kid by the reunion.  Ch…eck.

The best part was seeing that we’ve all turned out pretty well.  Nobody was eyeballing anyone with suspicion the way sometimes happens when everyone is 19.  Many of the guys I don’t think I ever saw sober were busy entertaining their toddlers.  More people remembered me than I expected.  And thanks to the miracle that is Facebook, I had some people to catch up with who I’m pretty sure I never actually talked to during those 4 years.

I haven’t gotten any graduate degrees, I haven’t cured any diseases, I haven’t made millions.  But I HAVE made a lot of food and a few crafts and that’s good enough for me.  Maybe I’ll cure a disease in the NEXT 10 years.  A really easy disease…