High School Reunion, Oh My! | Pauline Baird Jones Mystery Fiction

“Yeah, mom and dad, I did it! I actually graduated! Um, now what do I do?”

So, this month I will be attending my [deep breath here] 40th high school reunion. It’s not like I didn’t know I’m old as dirt. I know my age. But I hadn’t done the math on how long I’d been out of high school, so it was kind of a shock when the email showed up.

This will be the first time I’ve been able to attend a reunion. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone. I do wonder what it will be like, feel like when all our older selves get together. And there are sure to be the ghosts of our younger selves hanging around. Yearbooks and stuff. O.O

If I haven’t changed in 40 years, than that would just be sad. I have changed. A lot. I know the family jowls have taken over where I used to have a jawline. Gravity has taken a toll on various body parts and a lot of stress calories taken up permanent residence in my tush. I now know what a muffin top is.

Inside, I’ve changed a lot, too. I know more now, mostly that I didn’t know anything in high school. Nothing. Nada. And old dogs have to learn new tricks to survive. O.O

I have not learned as much as I’d hoped I would have by now. I really thought I’d be so wise. Possibly venerable. Peering through the mists of time, I sort of remember thinking that I’d never get old old. I knew that everyone gets old, but I’d be different. I’d manage it really well, so well that I’d be venerable, but not old.

Yeah.

Let’s see, where else was I wrong? I thought I’d know the moment I was a grownup. It would be like graduating, only without the ceremony and the diploma. But definitely a moment. Instead, grownup-ness sort of crept up on me and it hasn’t stopped the whining (though I do try to keep it internal). Does that mean I’m grownup or that I’m not?

Cuz there are times when I don’t feel grownup at all. When one of the grand babies’ face puckered up to cry, I actually thought, “Wow, I miss doing that.” Sometimes I’d like to just throw a temper tantrum, flailing fists and kicking legs. And it would still be cute. Not disturbing and scary.

I thought I’d get taller. Now I know I quit growing at 25. Yeah, probably heading the other direction now. Shrinking does run in the family, like the jowls.

Am I grownup enough to hang with the high school peeps and our ghosts? I kind of think I am and do you know why? Because I’m not stressing about what to wear. Wow. It will probably come, though there’s not a lot can be done. I am what I am. The mold is pretty much set. Though if you know of an outfit that would make me taller and shrink the jowls…

So, if you were going to your high school reunion, what would you worry about? What did you learn, post graduation that you didn’t expect? All comments are entered into my monthly drawing for $10 AnaBanana gift card. Winner is announced in the first blog post of the new month. (And be sure to check back in on Thursday. I’m celebrating my blog birthday all summer with some audio book giveaways.)