Last weekend was the most emotionally charged weekend I have had in at least a few months. There is nothing quite as thought-provoking as taking a walk down "memory lane". As you can imagine, mentally reliving what life was like a decade ago compared to what life is like now can stir up any number of emotions. For the most part, I was amused and entertained at how little my classmates had changed in just 10 years. But I couldn't help but garnish a few "life lessons" to take as my weekend souvenir.
Lesson #5- Mommy needs a break. Travelling with my four kids for an action packed weekend was fun but is not something I plan to do again anytime very soon. After a puke fest on the way down, runny noses all weekend, and a hotel room that looked as if a category 4 hurricane named Christopher hit in the middle of the day... my nerves were shot. As soon as we pulled into the driveway at home after being screamed at for hours on end in the van, the kids and Michael unloaded and I sat in the van and cried it out. Yep, sometimes a mommy just needs a break.
Lesson #4- Chocolate Dipped Cheesecake is God's gift to carnivalesque food. I made reference to this wonderous delight in the last blog and I am telling you... it might have been the highlight of my weekend. This picture is not my own but one I found when I googled "chocolate dipped cheesecake". I also found several recipes, mmmmm, looks like this mommy has found a way to get her break :)
Lesson #3- Sometimes the "right" outfit just finds you. I know this sounds ridiculously vain but I spent almost two months looking for the "right" outfit for this reunion. I wanted to look good people! Ten years later, three pregnancies later, and I wanted to be able to prove that I was still cute! I searched every possible store and outlet between Ringgold and Greensboro and came up empty. But whether out of desperation or shear availability, my sister and I were able to find the perfect outfit that left me feeling beautiful and comfortable. And we found it about 2 hours before the reunion was supposed to start. Talk about good timing. Unfortuantely I have no full length shot of my beautiful self in my reunion outfit, but trust me, I was smoking. Here's a cute one of me and my bestie, Sadrina.
Photo Courtesy of Robin Collins
Lesson #2- Dancing can be dangerous. The DJ at the evening party played a wide variety of music, though very little of it was actually "good". That, however, can't stop a bunch of crazy twenty-somethings from having a good time. After all, we DID get all dressed up. Granted several people were partaking of the adult beverages present, I happily sipped on my bottomless cup of Diet Coke and enjoyed the show. And what a show it was! From Grease renactments, to various renditions of the electric slide, to a full-on "Footloose" impersonation, there were some dancing fools! I would be willing to bet that some of those dancing shoes were a bit sore on Sunday morning. Whether it's dangerous or not, dancing is good for the soul!
Photo Courtesy of Robin Collins.
Lesson #1- Some things change, and some just don't. I suppose this lesson could be positive or negative, depending on the situation. For me, being reunited with one little lady in particular proved to be positive. Ten years has walked my best friend and I through completely different circumstances. I'm married with four children, living in rural VA, working at a church. She has experienced the heartache of divorce, the joy of a new relationship, all while living in busy NYC exploring the world of stage acting. We have chosen different paths completely. But she is still the one person at the reunion that when I saw her walk up to the park on Saturday afternoon, a little tear escaped my eye. Sadrina was more than a friend all through high school. We were practically related. And some things just don't change. We may be more mature and life experienced young ladies, but she's still my Drina and that was the ultimate weekend highlight. It's amazing what roads we take as adults and how far they may lead us away from our life as adolescences, but the things that we are able to hold onto in the midst of it, well that's something wonderful. It was the ultimate example of my life then meeting my life now.
Of all those life lessons that I experienced last weekend as we galvanted around our old stomping grounds, the greatest was realizing what a gift I have in my family. Ten years ago I was a completely free and independent high school senior. Now I am tied down with the strings of marriage and family, and it is a beautiful place to be. It doesn't mean that I don't occasionally need a chocolate break or that I don't sometimes long for the "old days". Because I do. It does mean, however, that I have grown beyond my own selfish desires and happily care for others. Ten years is not a long time. But it was long enough for God to make some changes, and then again He left some things just the way they were. :)
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