10 Year Class Reunion

Over the weekend we celebrated being out of high school for ten whole years, and let me tell you, it gave me ALL the feels. 

We kicked Friday night off by inviting classmates and their families to attend our Homecoming football game. While the turn-out was light due to the weather, the memories it brought back were heavy. As I walked around the track, I was greeted by the same families that had been there for years. Elementary school kids were still running around nearly hitting me with every uncoordinated throw of the football. Early relationships were blooming through the awkward teenage years as they subtly held hands and playfully pushed one another in the stands. When the fight song began to play, I sung every single word as I took in every memory it brought back. Part of me felt like nothing had changed and I was transported back to the nervous excitement I felt every Friday night... Cheering on my boys, socializing in the stands, and looking forward to the "after party" which would surely follow. I adored every nostalgic moment of the game... Even if we did lose to our stark rivals. 

The next day was spent bustling around to prepare for the big event. Photo printing, year book gathering, shopping, getting ready... Tayla and I were on the move from the moment we woke up. We arrived just in time to decorate the venue and crack open a bottle of wine before the guests arrived.

Let me just say, that bottle of wine was a game changer! At the end of a wine tour of Napa and Sonoma a few years ago, my drunk ass sprung for a 2007 bottle of Cab that I just had to have. I decided to save it for the occasion and it was totallyworth the wait. What a treat!

Our classmates slowly started trickling in, and before we knew it the space was filled with old friends, laughter, & lots of liquor. I can't even begin to explain how wonderful the evening was. There is something so special about the people you grew up with. Sure, I have lost contact with most of them, but at the end of the day we share an unforgettable bond. They know who I was when I got that shitty haircut in elementary school or slipped and fell in the school cafeteria. They know my parents and spent as much time at my house as I did. They shared the joy of the 32-30 homecoming victory over Warrenton, and held me through the loss of friends and family as the time passed. We shared the awkward middle school years and the self discovering high school moments. In a town as small as Rainier, there is little to do aside from connect with the people around you. The reunion brought back so many incredible memories and made me forever grateful for my small town roots.

I think our class motto says it best: 

The memories we shared,
the times we had together;
they will stay with us,
goodbye is not forever. 

Cheers to old friends making new memories!