milestone behind me: my 20th high school reunion
there was extensive build up
there had been months of anticipation
there was some solid preparation
there was also a certain lack of preparation*

relieved
hung over
a little tired
it was a late night
it was an early morning
more tired than hung over

glad I went
glad it is behind me
everything went well, perhaps better than expected
may have escaped without offending anyone
only felt awkward in a few situations
a few awkward situations were avoided
some awkward moments were abandoned with rapid evacuation

was not seeking closure to any relationships
really just spent the evening wandering around
there was no one in particular that I was seeking out
there was no one in particular that I had any great urge to see or catch up with
there may have been a few people that did not show up that would have been nice to see
but
the night moved by rather quickly
there were actually a few people that I waved to or shook hands with...
but never managed to make contact with

if I really needed to catch up with anyone I could use GOOGLE and the telephone rather than a 20th high school reunion

it was great seeing everyone
it was great seeing how people had grown and developed

so many familiar faces
so many unfamiliar names.... until the glance at the name tag
the senior year high school photo on some of the name tags answered many questions
the eyes
a deep stare into any individual's eyes revealed who they are
that is the one thing that never really changes
some lost weight
some gained weight
most everyone had different hair styles than 20 years ago
there were many men like myself wearing the absent of hair style

everyone was friendly
everyone was approachable
there were so many people who I got to speak with for the first time
for many of these people this was more than a high school reunion
many other than myself went to grade school and junior high with each other
groups, friendships, and cliques

there were many admissions of crushes
there were a few people trying to close deals that had never been closed
the classic reunion stuff
neither by me

although I traveled with a camera
there were no pictures taken
in hindsight I wish I had snapped some random photos
not posed smiles and hugs
just random shots around the room
that would have aided to make the memory of the evening less of a blurr

*only 9 of the 435 graduates put personal profiles on the Official Reunion Website
thus forcing so many of us to ask and aswer the question...
"so... what have you been up to since you graduated?"

why those images?
senior yearbook photo
and
me sledding with some friends 20 years ago
the image was on the cover of the Washington Post