Last night we had the second party for my husband's 20th High school reunion. It was held at the Houston Club. There was a great Ferrari with a US Navy tag in the parking lot.
There were 125 graduates, most with spouses, some with babies.
Tonight's festivities included name tags with black and white copies of senior photos and a book with “what you been doing” info and more recent pictures. That was cool. You could talk to someone and then go read their bio, or vice versa.
About an hour after we got there I was bored. I didn't know anyone and I hadn't geared up for R- wandering off to take pictures of everyone. I wanted to just go hide, or go to sleep, but I didn't. I sat at the table for a while and then I got up and started looking for couples who were standing by themselves. Then I would go introduce myself and chat with them for a while.
The highlight of my husband's night was when K- told him that she remembered him that he had been “smart and nice.” (He's still smart and nice, in case you wondered.) He was floored/thrilled. Someone remembered him! And remembered him positively! He did not remember her. He said he might have had a crush on her though. Being nice was as forward as he got when he liked someone. But I also know that he has always been fairly polite, so even if he didn't have a crush on her, he would have been nice.
We were talking with D- when my husband said S- had been very nice. “But she was always nice. Even in high school.” I asked who S- was. He pointed her out. “She was a cheerleader.”
R- went to do something else and I went looking for S-. “Are you S-?” I asked, because she was NOT wearing a nametag. She said yes. I said, “You don't know me, but I wanted to tell you…” Then I told her that R- said she was nice to him that evening, but that she had always been nice. “I remember R-,” she said. “He was a gentleman.” (R- swears she only remembers him from Saturday night. I tend to agree. He was not one of the in crowd by any stretch of the imagination.) Anyway, I told her and she said thank you. She hugged me. She said thank you. She hugged me again. “Everyone always assumes you're a bitch (if you're a cheerleader). You made my night.” She hugged me again. “You have a pretty special husband.” (She's right about that.)
I met L- because she had a great purse she'd made for the reunion. It said, “Retired and loving it.” She said I was the only person to notice the purse and she thanked me for noticing. She and her husband are living in New York now. That's a long travel distance for a reunion in Texas. They like it, she said, but it's not Texas and they would like to come home, but the work is there, not here.
Several couples have been trying to have kids and haven't managed it. Some are still trying. Some have given up. One woman has 22 and 27 year old stepchildren.
I don't think anyone else was homeschooling, but some had thought about it.
Interesting factoids:
Average marriage length = 13 years
Percentage in first marriage = 73%
Largest number of children = 6
Longest marriage = 17 years
Newlyweds in class= 2
The bar started running out of beer at 11. At 11:30 they stopped the music and told us to get lost. No one was really ready to go. Twenty years and we only had about four hours.