Emerge Unstoppable in 2011!

Emerge Unstoppable in 2011! That's my mission this year. Join me as I blog about life during divorce, raising a three year old, and the fight to live one's dream of being a writer, a graphic designer, a prayerfully a success at it all.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

The Big Chill…Jones County style

The Big Chill 2011
L to R: Shane, me, Hunter, Todd, Christy, & Bryan
Nostalgia was at its peak last Saturday as friends who I’ve known for 20+ years enjoyed an afternoon of good food and excellent company. We grew up together, us kids. In my mind, no matter how old we get we’ll always be “us kids.” It's funny to see how everyone has changed after 20 some odd years. We've put on a few pounds, some have lost, or are losing their hair, but I guess most importantly we've grown up. Everyone's working on careers and family. In fact, I must admit I was shocked at how tame our get together turned out to be. I could’ve stirred up more trouble in a room full of proctologists than I did at our BBQ Saturday. It was Twilight Zone-ish.

Lovebirds Hunter and Meg
Hunter I've known since I was five. He was probably the first boy I ever had a crush on. I don’t remember how old we were but I will never forget the feeling of butterflies in my stomach as I shakily signed the cast on his broken arm. He has three sweet kids now who are as polite as he always was. I only pray he doesn’t get paid back tenfold with the hot mess he was as a teen. Hunter’s engaged to a wonderful woman, a teacher named Meg. What a joy it was meeting her and her kids too. Someday I’ll have some history with Meg that warrants a blog post, until then *sigh* she’s off the hook.

Always with an attitude!

Bryan was there. I met Bryan when he moved into our neighborhood at, oh I don’t know, twelve or thirteen. He was the next boy I had a crush on. Why? He was exotic. A southern girl like me didn’t know what to do with a boy tied to Italian roots with hair, eyes and a complexion to match. Alas, Bryan broke my heart on my fifteenth birthday. I’ve waited 24 years to call him on it too. Now that I have revealed your offense to the blogosphere Bryan, you are forgiven.
 
Happily ever after.


Todd and Christy, after all these years of being married, pretty much right out of school, are obviously still in love. They hold hands and touch each other like teenagers. It’s sweet. Todd was another in the hot mess category who will hopefully avoid the “fair play” of karma. I hope so for Christy’s sake.

 

Never ending laughs!

Comic relief was provided by Shane. When we were teenagers, Shane always made me laugh. He still does. Shane and his wife Jen are pregnant with their first and I couldn’t be more excited for them. I would love to make a SA comment here, but I really think Shane waited until he was in later life because he wanted to be with the right woman. I haven’t ever met Jen, but I’m certain it’s her.


I guess I should be happy that none of the events from our tumultuous pasts came up in conversation Saturday. We've all had our share of relationships, ups, downs, accidents, joys and losses. We could have probably spent hours dishing all the dirt. Instead, we talked about where we are in life. We shared a few old stories and lots of laughs but I guess once you get to be our age what everyone says is true – you chill.

Robert Browning said, “Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.” If the best is sharing the company of good, old friends, count me in.

*****

Have you reunited with long time friends? Was it strange to see how much everyone had changed? Was there anything you wish you could’ve changed? Leave me a comment and I’ll send you the most resilient t-shirt around so you too can Emerge Unstoppable in 2011.

*****

Until tomorrow at WritersLi.P.P. I remain Unstoppable.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Lindy! Sounds like a boatload of fun. I actually skipped my high school reunion this year cause I really didn't feel like catching up on old times with people who didn't give a hoot about me then. Yes, I'm friends with many on Facebook and I'm slowly coming around to the fact that we do have to eventually grow up (not feelin it yet, though...grin...). But I'm still not there enough to spend money I could be spending elsewhere and vacation time I'd rather save to spend with my family. Maybe when the 30 year mark comes around, I might feel differently. But for now, I'll just enjoy the comments from those who did make it to the reunion.

    I honestly hope you all can remain friends for many years to come. I've had friends who I've lost contact with along life's path. I often wonder what happened to them.

    Thanks for sharing your friends with us!

    Tami

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  2. Never grow up Tami. The responsibility just isn't a fair trade. :-) I

    t's funny, I always felt like these guys didn't really care much, in fact, I have a host of folks I have to admit I didn't think cared when we were kids, but I think that's the nature of being that tender age. I'm glad we all stayed in touch via FB and have been able to get back together. It's good to see everyone after so many years.

    Thanks for stopping by and sharing. Now, go plan a reunion, will ya!

    Smooches,
    Lindy

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  3. Great post, Lindy. For me, high school was tough, but I have reconnected with lots of my classmates on Facebook and feel like I know them better now than I did then and am hoping to organize a reunion of sorts when I go back to southern Illinois for my hometown's "Ag Days" celebration in August. It's like a lot of areas of my life, in which I make a conscious decision to put the past in the past and make the most of the present moment. And if that includes making new connections with old acquaintances, then so much the better!

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  4. Thanks Pam. There's this funny thing with old friends like these...these are the folks that knew me at my worst and my best and 20 years later are still willing to hang out with me. Ha! Thanks God we're all older so our memories are failing! I want to hear all about Ag Days! Smooches - Lindy

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