Too school for cool
I woke up at 6:30 yesterday to drive out to New Jersey to attend an all alumnae reunion at my high school. My all-girls, Catholic high school.
Saturday night was filled with apprehension and nervousness about going back. I was stressed about what to wear and how it would be. I graduated from high school seventeen years ago. I am a completely different person than I was back then. Why should I still be scared of Sister Regina, the nun who is still the principal of the school? I'm an adult. A mother!
I made the 2.5 hour drive out to the school and noticed during a bathroom break that the blouse I was wearing had a stain on it. So with 15 minutes to spare, I stopped at the Target near the school and bought a new blouse, and then a pair of shoes since the ones I'd been wearing didn't match with the new blouse- a situation that only added to my anxiety.
My friend Robyn, with whom I've recently reconnected, was late, so I sat with the only other attendee from my class year during the liturgy. I really should have planned to miss the religious ceremony portion of the morning. I no longer consider myself Catholic so the service made me slightly uncomfortable. Overt religion in any form makes me uncomfortable. I sat toward the back and off to one side and remembered that these liturgies were a monthly part of my high school experience.
After the service there was a brunch in the gym that looked to my memory, exactly like the luncheon they had for my class right before we graduated-- right down to the red paper tablecloths and yellow napkins and daffodils in vases on the tables. Many of my old teachers were there and they looked the same. Some remembered me, some were a little obvious in checking out my name tag. Robyn and I were aghast that they had a fountain serving mimosas. Alcohol at our high school!!! Insanity. Mr. U, one of my religion teachers, made a little slideshow of all of the attendees senior portraits. It was fun. Then they set us free to roam the building. It was absolutely astounding-- with the exception of removing phone booths and adding an elevator to comply with ADA laws, the school is EXACTLY the same.
Now, if only my class could get their acts together and plan a class-specific reunion, memory lane could be even more fun.
Saturday night was filled with apprehension and nervousness about going back. I was stressed about what to wear and how it would be. I graduated from high school seventeen years ago. I am a completely different person than I was back then. Why should I still be scared of Sister Regina, the nun who is still the principal of the school? I'm an adult. A mother!
I made the 2.5 hour drive out to the school and noticed during a bathroom break that the blouse I was wearing had a stain on it. So with 15 minutes to spare, I stopped at the Target near the school and bought a new blouse, and then a pair of shoes since the ones I'd been wearing didn't match with the new blouse- a situation that only added to my anxiety.
My friend Robyn, with whom I've recently reconnected, was late, so I sat with the only other attendee from my class year during the liturgy. I really should have planned to miss the religious ceremony portion of the morning. I no longer consider myself Catholic so the service made me slightly uncomfortable. Overt religion in any form makes me uncomfortable. I sat toward the back and off to one side and remembered that these liturgies were a monthly part of my high school experience.
After the service there was a brunch in the gym that looked to my memory, exactly like the luncheon they had for my class right before we graduated-- right down to the red paper tablecloths and yellow napkins and daffodils in vases on the tables. Many of my old teachers were there and they looked the same. Some remembered me, some were a little obvious in checking out my name tag. Robyn and I were aghast that they had a fountain serving mimosas. Alcohol at our high school!!! Insanity. Mr. U, one of my religion teachers, made a little slideshow of all of the attendees senior portraits. It was fun. Then they set us free to roam the building. It was absolutely astounding-- with the exception of removing phone booths and adding an elevator to comply with ADA laws, the school is EXACTLY the same.
Now, if only my class could get their acts together and plan a class-specific reunion, memory lane could be even more fun.