The reunion

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This past weekend was my husband’s 55th high school reunion. You can do the math. The age of the attendees hovered around 72. We were there. I brought down the average age to 70. It was the best I could do.

At this stage we have eliminated the folks who don’t like to drive at night or eat after 4 p.m. I was surprised that there were no walkers or wheelchairs so those folks didn’t attend either.

There were bionic hips and knees in attendance. I only knew this because of the various conversations. People (as they do at any age) were comparing operations and recovery times.

It was at a wonderful country club (which may have also eliminated the folks on social security) that requires coats and ties. The attire for the women ranged from sparkly everyday pants outfits to short length cocktail dresses. I wore one of my prettier business dresses from my working days.

My thinking was that since it was in the evening when lighting is dim and attended by folks who don’t see so well, I could wear a five-year-old outfit. I was right.

It’s a dress I love with a soft colorful pattern in a broomstick skirt with a matching top. If I let my inner designer critique it I would say the top is a little shorter than the current style. I paired it with peep toe shoes and (oh yes) pantyhose. I needed those to stay warm.

I wore pantyhose when I worked and used to buy them by the dozen. The last time I bought a dozen was around 2000. The elastic they use in the waistband doesn’t last 15 years. Fortunately my hips held them up but I threw out my entire supply.

There are very few of the beloved husband’s classmates that I know. I see them every 5 years and unless there is something unusual about them, I don’t remember them at all. (There are tales of mismatched spouses bumping uglies in the parking lot. I miss all the fun!)

Most of the men look alike with varying amounts of graying hair. One guy approached me and said, “I’ve noticed you’ve been eyeing me up.” I damn near died! I didn’t remember seeing him before. The only people I was eyeing up were the servers with the food and drinks. Mostly drinks.

There are a few things that need to be noted about reunions at this age. The list of deceased school chums now take up a full sheet of paper. They posted this on every table so people are grateful they are not on it.

People come from long distances to attend class reunions. My reunion is within five miles and I’ve never attended.

When the music starts the people are immediately out on the dance floor. It’s not like younger folks who need a few drinks to get out there. These people realize that their time is limited and if they want to dance, they should get out there and do it. Now!

The dance floor is most crowded for the first set. After that those bionic limbs start tiring out.

It’s all about the hearing. The tables were for ten. That’s a BIG circle. I couldn’t hear people talking unless they were adjacent to me. People asked me things and I did my usual nodding and smiling. Hopefully I didn’t agree to anything illegal.

People (who weren’t dancing) complained about the loudness of the music. Trust me, it wasn’t as loud as a nightclub or a kid’s party.

The evening ends early. We had an hour’s drive home so we were gone by 10:30. Most other people were too.

While I don’t look forward to these events (seriously, a bunch of old people talking about things they did when they were young? Yes, I know if they were MY friends it would be different.) I enjoyed myself. The destination was nice, the food was good and our companions were fun. I also got to boogey to the oldies!

 

 

46 thoughts on “The reunion”

  1. Pingback: The shopping kerfuffle | Views and Mews by Coffee Kat

  2. I go back and forth on these things. Sometimes I think it’s fun to see old high school friends, and sometimes I think it’s boring. (Don’t tell them.) I do enjoy talking to my friends, but what do you say to the classmates you barely remember or don’t remember at all?

    I’m glad you had a chance to dance in your broomstick skirt and matching top.

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  3. When we married, my husband made me promise two things: no surprise parties and no reunions. We live in the area where he grew up and he doesn’t go. I travel for hours to go to mine. You are a champ to go — and enjoy — his reunions. It is hard to be in a party of folks reminiscing about things you played no part in.

    Me, I love my reunions. My 20th was one of the best nights of my life because a guy who had bullied me in grammar school made an ass out of himself in front of several hundred people. It was wonderful, and that image will pass by as I lay dying, I’m sure. At our 40th, I got to listen to Tommy (the bully) brag about how he goes skiing in Vermont all the time. Do you ski, Elyse? “I did quite a bit when I lived in Switzerland …” Life is good sometimes, you know? (I am the worst skiier in the world, Switzerland notwithstanding but please don’t tell Tommy O.)

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    • That is funny. If I did go to mine, I would go alone. It would be hard enough for me to figure out who people are. I don’t want to worry about whether another person is enjoying themselves. My husband is not good at the small talk except for his reunion!

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  4. Why a man never stops hitting on a woman until he’s dead is beyond me. Gotta be something in our jeans I guess. By the way Kate, I loved your line, “Hopefully I didn’t agree to anything illegal.” My hearing is slipping, and I think my wife sometimes feels I’m ignoring her (mind you a lot of us men don’t always pay attention, and I doubt that is a revelation), but I’ have taken to nodding in agreement. I just hope she don’t catch me out on that, or its off to the ear doctor.

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  5. Until their death men will try to pick a woman up! Sounds like a very nice evening indeed! I love watching this age group tear up the dance floor without it looking like something from a porn movie.
    As for the pantyhose I hear ya! When I first started working pantyhose were a daily requirement and if I found a brand that I loved I would hoard them like the world was ending.

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  7. You sound suspiciously like I used to sound whenever I had to attend the obligatory company functions, such as parties and picnics. I would rather have been just about anywhere else, but once I made up my mind to attend, I tried to just relax and enjoy the experience. Thoroughly enjoyed your colorful commentary. I swear you might be half-related to Erma Bombeck. Let’s just say your quips and comments are entertaining, and even when the reader is distracted or grumpy, they still can’t help but smile. By the way, you’re not fooling us. We know you had your eye on that gentleman the whole time. And it wasn’t just because his pants were trying to decide whether they were going to be high enough to escape the next flood, either. I’m thinking all that dancing got you in the mood for a little risky business. ;-0

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  9. I had a wonderful time at my 40th reunion. Since I missed my 30th (I was busy getting married that day), I was really looking forward to seeing everyone. I was surprised how many people still lived in town (as I do) and I was able to re-connect with several friends. I was looking forward to dancing but not many people were on the floor so we stopped after a few songs. Maybe the 50th is the one for that.

    I “eyed up” a few of the men but it was only because I couldn’t believe how old they looked!

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  10. Glad you had a good time. The same thing happened with my drawer full of pantyhose ~ they died a slow death without ever seeing the light of day. I don’t miss them!

    I’ve never been to a high school reunion ~ not when we lived 12 hours away and not when we lived an hour away. Other than a few folks I stayed in touch with, I’m not that curious about how their lives turned out. One of my classmates sent me a link to a youtube video of a multi-class reunion. I watched it and felt “smug” about how much younger I looked than the vast majority of attendees. :mrgreen:

    We have gone to many Homecoming Reunions at W&M because we love visiting Wmsburg ~ sometimes we even pop into the reunion activities to catch up with old school chums, but not always. Sometimes we’re too busy drinking Mint Juleps at the King’s Arms Tavern.

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  11. I love reunion stories! At my 50th we were all surprised that the Tootsie-esque women no one remembered was Elaine who used to be Bob! Apparently, after a long marriage and becoming a widower, it was something he/she always wanted to do! — It was the highlight of the reunion, and gives me a good story to tell!

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  12. I guess at that age some guys just cast shame to the wind since he may think he has little time. Did you tell the beloved husband? I would have squealed on him in an instant. You handled it quite graciously.
    My last reunion was 2008 when I re-met a high school friend who I found out then lived just 10″ from us. Since we graduated from hs in Florida and both now live in TX; we were floored about finding out we were practically neighbors. We renewed our friendship with lunch dates and play dates with grandchildren. This weekend she’s coming out to visit us in the country for the weekend. I can’t wait.

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  14. Honestly “what’s your sign?” would have been better. Ancient but still better. “Eying me up” is creepy and stalkerish. I was president of my class, but I really think I’m done with reunions. The last one I went to was really bad.

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  16. Your commentary had me chuckling. Seriously, they posted a list of the deceased on the tables? I’m kinda surprised that didn’t put a pall over the party!

    Nice that it created a carpe diem effect instead. I didn’t see that coming.

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    • So many classmates had died. There is always that whatever happened to….with someone responding “They are dead.” It made sense to post. I expected to see a list at the entrance rather than on each table but it didn’t affect the party. Perhaps you see death differently when you are older (especially when it’s not one of your loved ones).

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  17. “I’ve noticed you’ve been eyeing me up.” There are a gazillion come back lines I have been thinking of since I read that….like…Oh sorry, I am a writer and you seem to fit the character in my horror story so well! Or perhaps, no, just trying to figure out if it was your picture I noticed on the wall at the Post Office? All in all, it sounds like you had a nice evening.

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    • It was a nice evening. I wasn’t expecting to get hit on at a 55th reunion. I was obviously off my game. I wouldn’t say anything to embarrass the guy just in case he had mistaken me for someone else but I could have come up with something!

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  19. I’ve never been to a class reunion, and never see ex-school mates (emigration may have something to do with it!). I have however experienced two very significant reminders that I am not getting any younger. The first was when I realized that the person I had just hired to support me was the same age as my daughter. The second was the unfortunate truth that the person assisting me to resolve a software issue was the same age as my grand-daughter. You’ve got to admit though that the aging process can provide many opportunities for a good laugh if you have the inclination to see the humorous aspects of it! 🙂

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