High School Reunion

I had a dream that I was at my high school reunion, cooking Banana French Toast Flambé, in a cast iron skillet, over a campfire.  When I woke up I did some fuzzy math that added up to 20 years. I graduated from high school 20 years ago? I asked my friend, Google, if there was a reunion planned this summer. There was. The location would even allow for the cooking of flaming breakfast foods, in cast iron skillets.

It started as a dream but it had quickly turned into a dilemma. Would I go to my high school reunion? My children declared that I had to go to my reunion and make my dream come true! I was enticed by their poetic logic. But I don't know how to make Banana French Toast Flambé. More importantly, I don't particularly like it.

So, breakfast foods aside, would I go? I started asking people their opinions. Everyone had one. Pretty much the same one. I should go. "It will be fun," and "Everyone has changed," were very popular arguments. If I really wanted to attempt to have fun in a room full of people, who are essentially strangers, then couldn't I just go clubbing?

I was still conflicted. I had no real desire to go to my reunion but I worried that I would be missing out on something that was supposed to be important to me if I didn't. As a parent of home educated kids, the irony was not lost on me. My kids would never have high school reunions if they never attend high school. They will either stay in touch with their friends, reconnect with their friends, or move on with their lives. If at the age of awfully close to 40, they are looking for fun with strangers, they can go to a club.

But I told myself that this is different. I had unwillingly spent 12 years of my life with most of these people. We shared teachers, 1974 or 1975 birthdates, and a geographic location. We may remember things about each other.

Would we remember each other?  I spent most of my time in school  trying to blend into the background while covertly reading and writing. (Sorry, teachers. In spite of my good grades, I usually wasn't studying or taking notes. Or paying attention.) As an introverted child, I was uncomfortable in my school environment. I avoided most of my classmates. Admittedly, a few of them really warranted avoiding at the time, but others were people that I thought of as interesting, clever, funny and kind. I would have enjoyed their company under different circumstances. A reunion was unlikely to provide those different circumstances. My dearest childhood friends wouldn't be there either.

Yesterday was my 20th high school reunion. I didn't go. I hope those that did had a fantastic time and got what they wanted from the experience. And me? My 10 year old son made an amazing Chocolate Layer Cheesecake, from scratch, and I drove him around so he could share slices of it with friends.

Did I make the right choice? Well, my math may still be a bit fuzzy, but I am pretty sure that cheesecake with friends is greater than french toast with strangers.