How do I start, I spent the entire day getting ready for this event. I let myself sleep in till around 9. I went and got breakfast and got my hair done by my stylist Abby who is just awesome. That was from 10:30 till 2:00ish. From there, I ran some errands and checked on our kitty cat Patches. Then it was off to the salon for manicure, pedicure, waxing etc. (I am new to waxing...ouch) Won't go into details there. By the time I finished with my nails etc, it was time for my makeup appointment at the Brea Mall, Estee Lauder counter to be pampered. It was super crowded at the mall, and there were a lot of high schoolers having manicures, pedicures and make up appointments to. It was El Dorado (my alma mater) and Troy High School Homecoming Dance that night. Needless, to say, the mall was crawling with people. I am super glad that I had an appointment and that I was able to get a parking space. By the time, I finished with my make up appointment it was nearly 6. This left me barely any time to get something to eat and get back home to change and pick up the hubby for the reunion.
When I got home he was chilling out, watching Smallville on the computer. I decided to rest for a little bit and then we got called by my friend Penny and Kari asking where I was. We left right after they both called. We got lost trying to find valet parking at Downtown Disney, as I haven't had an annual pass in quite a while. I am too busy with school and marriage at this point to worry about having an annual pass. There was parking lot trolls in the small downtown disney parking and luckily we got our car valeted and made it in by 8:30. Later than I expected, but hey it happens.
When Richard and I came in, we checked in and they gave us name badges with my senior picture on them (sigh of relief- I had amazing senior pictures and chose my favorite one!) We went up the steps to the house of blues and immediately our picture was taken, made it about halfway up and I am greeted by my old chum Lee Noellette. Lee and I go way back, at one time people thought we dated, but that never happened and we were just really good friends. Lee was gracious at the reunion and excited to meet the man who caught my heart and make sure he was good to me. Once we got there, I noticed that my sweet hubby and I were the most dressed up couple there. We got quite a few looks last night from being so dressed up. I couldn't imagine wearing jeans to a reunion though. Plus I wanted to look good, but that was more for me than for others. I like to look pretty and have a reason to dress up, even if it is just a little bit. I was so taken aback by the atmosphere of relaxation and just chilling out with old high school buddies. I had gone in with the expectations that our class would still maintain the cliques and that people wouldn't talk to certain people. There were a few that were that way, but nowhere near enough to even say that it was a problem. I really felt our class had overcome the high school BS and was ready to just really get to know people for who they are.
What really came as fear and not wanting to go, turned into, I am really glad that I did. I saw people that I grew up with as far back as Wagner Elementary School and Tuffree Junior High. I got some really great compliments, but a guy named Darrell Gates really took me aback when he was saying "No F--ing way, Monika McKemie?", You have got to be kidding me, not to be a jerk, but WOW." That was one of the highlights of the night. For those of you that don't know Darrell Gates, we grew up together and he saw me through all these awkward stages of life. He knew me before I was ever confident, or thought I was pretty. Darrell was a guy who dated all the prettiest girls in school. At one point I had a crush on him, but wouldn't ever say anything because there was no way that I would be able to even go on a date with him. When he hugged me and told me that I just about cried.
My sweet hubby spent the night getting to know people that I grew up with and making new friends. He wasn't around me much the entire night, but love each other so much that he doesn't need to be around me every moment to know that we love each other. He pretty much acted like he graduated with my class. The House of Blues was an interesting venue and the atmosphere was that of a bar/club. The survey they handed us at the beginning made no sense with the setting and atmosphere and I am sure most people just threw them away.
All in all, it was a very interesting night to see how much people have changed and what has been going on in their lives. I never thought I would even care to attend my reunion, or see people who thought who knows what about me back then, or that they would even care to say hi to me now. I was very lucky that my class matured enough to hang out and be who they were together in the atmosphere and the time. Don't let your dreams run away without you, What I learned most from this evening, was keep your dreams alive, keep your goals in sight and don't let other people dictate your life. That was on other hand, what I have learned in the past ten years and I was glad to see that other people felt the same way. What I got from other people and the event, was to just be who you are and be okay with it.
Thank you to the El Dorado High School Class of 1998 for sharing memories and becoming better people together. Hopefully the next ten years bring more memories and a closer bond between us. To my sweet hubby, I love you more than words can say!
