"Are you someone's grandmother?" he asked as soon as I walked into the classroom. I had to have him repeat it before I understood. My hearing isn't so great anymore plus he was missing his two front teeth!
"No, I'm your substitute teacher." I could feel the air fizzling out of my bubble…the 1977 fantasy world I'd been living in the past few days,where I'm perpetually 18.
High school reunions, surrounded by classmates and memories, can do that to you.
And all it takes is one little toothless cutie pie to send you crashing back to menopausal reality. Thanks a lot, kid.
I've been hanging out with second-graders the past two days, and before that, I was hanging out with a 50+ crowd who mostly behaved like teenagers. No better way to stay feeling young – even if the second graders like to remind you you're old enough to be their grandmother!
My high school reunion was a blast – at least in my opinion, and as far as I could tell, everyone else agreed with me. There weren't a lot of us, but we had enough fun to want to do it again soon. To heck with waiting every five years.
A few of us started it Friday night with a tour of our old high school. OMG! It was huge when we went there, but it's doubled in size since then. There's actually a branch of a credit union in the lunchroom, a coffee shop (run by students, I believe), a police department, and a culinary arts program with its own chef. Street signs mark hallways – I would surely get lost without them!
After the tour, a bunch of us watched the first half of the homecoming football game. The Fighting Deer were winning when we left, right after the new Homecoming Queen was crowned. As a former HQ, I felt obligated to stay at least that long before heading off to the big Pre-Reunion Party at my friend Rae's house.
Bless their hearts, this is the second time Rae and her husband Keith have opened up their home to all of us old renegades for a little casual ice-breaking before the dressier event the next evening. Another friend ordered matching t-shirts for all the women, making us official Deer Park Divas.
At one point during the evening, Rae led me and Tom outside. The other Divas were already gathered there, and knowing how sneaky they are, I wondered what they had been up to now.
Turns out they pitched in and got us a paving stone decorated with the Air Force symbol, in honor of Pop. They knew Tom would appreciate that much more than flowers. Ah, those sweet friends.
I'm embarrassed to say Tom and I were (again!) the last to leave Friday night… er, Saturday morning. We just hate for those nights to end!
No more worries about forgetting your lunch money!
It goes on and on and on and on….
See the splotches of white-out? Those are guys who popped their 'Stud Duck' hats on just before the camera clicked – after being told to take them off. The white-out comes right off. Isn't 35 years long enough?
(That's me on the bottom front row, the brunette between blonde Larry and brunette Gina-tay.)
Chef Reggie
Alumni who have made the school proud. (I'm not on there.)
That's okay. I'm part of this special group!
(For more images from the Homecoming football game, go HERE)
Deer Park Divas!
They are so sweet and thoughtful!
Photo-bombing!
Thanks again to Cindy for arranging the tour, Rae and Keith for opening your home, Gina for ordering the t-shirts, Debra and the other Divas for the paving stone, and Sandy for taking over my camera so I could photo-bomb with Rae and Gina-tay!
Oh, and happy 31st-anniversary-of-the-day-we-met to Tom! Thank you for asking me to dance!
Long Hollow 
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