I woke up last Sunday morning after very little sleep (I think I nodded off after 4 am) but with a big smile on my face after attending my class reunion the night before. I couldn't believe it had been 20 years since my high school classmates and I had graduated from ROCORI. Where did the time go?
I got to the party at River Station right on time at 7pm, and met a few classmates. Some of them gave me big hugs and wishes of thanks for putting our reunion in the Cold Spring Record & the St. Cloud Times, something I was glad to do anyway. After a few brief chats with my friends to catch up, we positioned ourselves at a table in the back so we could see and identify more classmates at the front door who came to join the party.
After 20 years, it's funny how some of my friends look just like I remember them. While some of us have lost weight and/or hair or gained a few love handles, for the most part, we really haven't changed a bit! It's also funny how some friends look totally different. In fact, I didn't even know some of them had attended the party until a bunch of us were talking in the wee hours of Sunday morning. One of them wasn't even our classmate - the spouse of the ROCORI baseball coach showed up in his stead, and I had to remark how much he'd grown (he's kinda short)! We also had our old sociology teacher show up and say hi to everyone. He's also the father of one of my classmates, so I wasn't too surprised to see him there and was glad to talk to him too.
I stayed at the party until closing time, enjoying the conversations and laughs with the old classmates. About 20 classmates and their spouses had also gone to a golf scramble at River Oaks that afternoon, something I never thought of doing on a muggy August day. Outside the River Station, some of us gathered as lightning struck and small drops of rain fell. Most of us left weren't ready to finish partying, however, so we gathered at another classmate's house just a few blocks away. There we enjoyed refreshments and good conversation, moving outside when the garage became too muggy.
The party finally broke up about 3:30 in the morning. As I drove home that early Sunday morning, I kept thinking back to the conversations, laughs and hugs I had shared with classmates at the reunion. While I didn't get to talk to all my classmates who attended, I did talk to most of my old friends, and I really enjoyed catching up with them and reveling in stories of bad behavior in our elementary, junior high and high school years. The reunion was my highlight of the weekend, and it made me feel that the toils of the daily grind were all worth it. I'm already looking forward to more good times at our 25th reunion!
I got to the party at River Station right on time at 7pm, and met a few classmates. Some of them gave me big hugs and wishes of thanks for putting our reunion in the Cold Spring Record & the St. Cloud Times, something I was glad to do anyway. After a few brief chats with my friends to catch up, we positioned ourselves at a table in the back so we could see and identify more classmates at the front door who came to join the party.
After 20 years, it's funny how some of my friends look just like I remember them. While some of us have lost weight and/or hair or gained a few love handles, for the most part, we really haven't changed a bit! It's also funny how some friends look totally different. In fact, I didn't even know some of them had attended the party until a bunch of us were talking in the wee hours of Sunday morning. One of them wasn't even our classmate - the spouse of the ROCORI baseball coach showed up in his stead, and I had to remark how much he'd grown (he's kinda short)! We also had our old sociology teacher show up and say hi to everyone. He's also the father of one of my classmates, so I wasn't too surprised to see him there and was glad to talk to him too.
I stayed at the party until closing time, enjoying the conversations and laughs with the old classmates. About 20 classmates and their spouses had also gone to a golf scramble at River Oaks that afternoon, something I never thought of doing on a muggy August day. Outside the River Station, some of us gathered as lightning struck and small drops of rain fell. Most of us left weren't ready to finish partying, however, so we gathered at another classmate's house just a few blocks away. There we enjoyed refreshments and good conversation, moving outside when the garage became too muggy.
The party finally broke up about 3:30 in the morning. As I drove home that early Sunday morning, I kept thinking back to the conversations, laughs and hugs I had shared with classmates at the reunion. While I didn't get to talk to all my classmates who attended, I did talk to most of my old friends, and I really enjoyed catching up with them and reveling in stories of bad behavior in our elementary, junior high and high school years. The reunion was my highlight of the weekend, and it made me feel that the toils of the daily grind were all worth it. I'm already looking forward to more good times at our 25th reunion!
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