Thoughts on surviving my 20th high school reunion

Should I take juice or milk for Philip? The cooler’s big enough. I’ll take both.

Oh, no! How can we be out of pepperoni?! Maybe he’ll eat chicken at the picnic. I packed popcorn and blueberries. Wait, did I get the blueberries in the new or old packaging? Screw you Walmart for changing the packaging. It’s okay, it’s the old style. Philip will eat those.

Oh crap, I should have taken my shower an hour ago. Now my hair is still wet and I can’t pull it back yet. Should I take a comb? No time.

Shoes or sandals? There’s been so much rain, the ground might be soggy. I’ll wear my old sandals. I hope they don’t look too ratty. Philip will wear shoes and socks. I don’t want him to stub a toe. But will his feet get sweaty?

Look at the sweat on his upper lip. I’ve got to put a tank top on him. He’s going to get cranky if he is hot and sweaty. I don’t want him to be uncomfortable. It will be bad enough with the bugs.

Will Philip freak out when we get to this new place? What if he clings to me like he did this morning at Lowe’s? Peter had to finish building the kit at the kids’ workshop because of that damn fly buzzing near our workspace. I thought I was going to have to carry him out of the store. I’m glad he calmed down by the time we got to the car.

Before the fly came buzzing around

Bubbles. And a Frisbee. What else should I take for him? What about the car he made this morning? I don’t want to be carrying a ton of stuff. There’s got to be at least one stick, leaf or twig at this campground. Oh, he has a twist tie to fidget with. That will work.

The chairs-I almost forgot to put the chairs in the trunk. I’ll need a seat. Philip will probably stand. Will he stand beside me? Will there be other kids? Am I going to be the only one bringing a kid? Why didn’t I ask ahead of time? Why didn’t I let Mom watch him?

Okay, we’re in the car. The directions! Don’t forget the directions.

Look at the time. Stay calm. They said they were serving food at 7pm. You’ll get there in plenty of time.

Oh, I should have memorized these directions before I started driving. Really buddy? You had to turn onto this road? Great, now I have someone behind me while I’m trying to figure out where to turn. I’ll pull over. That’s it-you get in front of me. This road is too windy to have this guy riding my bumper.

That was it! That was the road. I’ll turn around up here. Try not to back up into the culvert. Oh, look-there was a sign, just like they promised.

Where do I park? Who are these people? Oh, no. I don’t know anyone here. It’s too late to turn around. They already saw me pull in. You’ve paid, you said you were going, you’re here. Just get out of the car. Wait-I know who that is. And I see other kids here. Don’t panic. Get yourself and Philip out of the car.

Should I say hi? Is that a classmate or someone’s spouse? Why don’t I recognize her? Is it rude to ask? I’ve completely forgotten all social niceties and rules of etiquette. I hope they don’t think I’m a snob.

Why does my pant leg feel wet? The bubbles are leaking. Awesome. Now it will look like I’m incontinent.

Here come someone. She’s smiling. I know her! I can do this.

How could it be twenty years?

The perfect date. He doesn’t know how it could already be twenty years either.

 

Since I linked up my pre-reunion story last week, I thought it would be good to include my post-reunion story on this weekend’s Yeah Write Moonshine Grid.