Not really. A lot of you lost. (But you're not losers, don't let anyone tell you that ever!) #2 was the lie. I had leading roles in Bells Are Ringing and The Pajama Game. When you're second female lead alongside the cute Doris Day-type, it helps if you're loud, obnoxious and have (fake) red hair. I was a terrible driver in high school--okay, Mr. D, and beyond high school. But! I haven't been in an accident in years now. So there. I actually earned a letter in Forensics, but my sporting career was limited to one season of bench-warming my sophomore year and I was never in the band.
A few people went 2 for 3 on my game--Madame Hotfessional, Jen on the Edge and Hope over at .Bulletproof.. Ladies, to honor your accomplished B.S.-sniffers, shoot me an email with your address and I'll send you your choice of my home-made applesauce or raspberry jam.
Meanwhile, I'm up to my eyeballs in it--a bake sale (sugary), black belt training (sweaty), kids with homework and projects (scowly), class reunion (sensational), garden harvest (seven quarts of tomatoes this morning) and a manuscript to edit (squinty). Busier than a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest. Truly.
But a few words about my high school reunion before I return to my chores--I may have mentioned that I don't really have a "home" in the traditional sense. My family moved every 4 years or so, we never lived close to extended family and they've kept moving since I graduated high school. The question "Where are you from?" leads to complicated answers. Which I won't bore you with here. I will say that I'm loath to "go back" because I always feel like a fringe element around people who'd spent their entire lives together. I've never done a college reunion and rarely return to any of my old haunts from any point in my life. Perhaps it's a fear of having been forgotten (my ego fears discovering my insignificance) or it's a fear of showing up where I'm not wanted. I hate to crash parties as an uninvited guest.
I went and it was swell. People greeted me with open arms (literally--I haven't been hugged so much since I don't know when). People told me they were glad I showed up, they hoped to see me and reconnect. Really overwhelming. I found myself faced with old classmates who have become successful, happy, productive people. Sure, a few pompous jerks mingled with the crowd, but I didn't really talk to them. I talked to the guy who sat behind me in 9th grade English, the girl I wrote a senior class skit with, my prom date. I met wives and husbands, heard about folks who couldn't make it and saw a few people who have always nestled in a tender spot in my heart.
I laughed with pleasure, shock and joy. Nostalgia permeated the air as the DJ spun all 80's hits on vinyl, competing with the talkingtalkingtalking because there was much to catch up on when you've been away from each other so very long. I jotted down a couple email addresses and promised I'll come back in 5 years. I lay in bed Sunday morning exhausted, hoarse from all the talking and muscles aching from the weekend's black belt training. But I lay there utterly content.
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