twenty years

My 20 year high school reunion is this weekend.  I can't go (I wasn't even sure I wanted to go anyway, but then I found out I couldn't have gone if I had wanted to because I have somewhere else to be all day tomorrow), but high school friends have been posting about it on facebook, so it's been on my mind even though I won't be there.

Twenty years!?!?  It feels like a couple of years ago. 

Of course, a lot has happened since then....four years of college, two years of graduate school, teaching school for 10 years, getting married, having children....I guess it makes sense that all of those things would need many years to occur, but still, twenty years sounds like a LONG time.  It just doesn't feel like a long time.

I remember when my parents had their twenty-fifth reunion because my mom helped out with it.  And I remember thinking they were old.  Does that mean I'm going to be old in five years?  Because I don't feel old.  And most people tell me I don't look older.  But the calendar tells me differently, I guess!

There are some people I wish I could see, but for the most part, I already keep in touch with most of the people I would be interested in talking to.  Facebook is a strange phenomenon, because I feel like I know enough about what a lot of people are doing with their lives and can see their pictures, so I don't feel a huge need to go back and see them in person.  Big social gatherings are not my favorite things, plus my husband leaves the country tomorrow, so I would be going by myself, so I'm actually pretty thankful that I have something else going on and can't be there.  But I'm still a little bit curious and anxious to see the pictures people will eventually post.

These are the only pictures I have from my high school graduation.  That particular roll of film was double exposed, so they were all ruined.  :(  This black and white one was one the school took and gave me--it's me giving my valedictory speech (I was scared to death, can you tell?).  I don't have a clue what I talked about, though I still have my speech written on note cards somewhere.

This one is my friend and next door neighbor growing up, Jennifer.  Do you have any pictures from that day, Jennifer?  Maybe I should try and get some from you.

And this is one of my dad and me which really didn't turn out.  My dad was my government teacher (though my best friend, Maro, and I took his class "independent study," during our study hall, and spent most of our study halls in his room goofing off, instead of learning about government.  But we got A's on all of the tests, so we learned something, right Dad?)

So apart from the big bangs, how much older do I look?  Twenty years???