Attending the 20-year reunion was the recognition I needed for "it's more than OK you're still single." The singles my age these days are a growing minority with divorces and life circumstances returning people to single status.
But first, flashback to when KC and the Sunshine Band, the Bee Gees and flared pants were "in" the first time. Back then you tended to act within the safe boundaries of your social tribe in high school, whether that was pulling pranks, pulling A's, struggling with C's, gossiping or being shy.
The five-year class reunion arrived in what seemed like a time warp. Giddily, I approached the cocktail mixer. I mumbled things like "Wow, the past five years have flown and I'm still in college" to the strains of Wang Chung and Soft Cell. The five-year reunion was still quite cliquish, with geeks, jocks, burnouts and nerds staying within their own groups.
I approached the 10-year reunion's sit-down dinner with mild excitement. At that time, I felt I hadn't done much since graduation, so I found myself
Along with "Boy, did Kurt ever change!"' and "Did you hear she's been divorced twice already?" there was a bit more mingling among the formerly tight social groups of yesteryear.
My 15-year class reunion came and went. After learning that other classmate chums in my circle weren't attending, either, I put the flier away.
I approached the notion of attending my 20-year reunion with ambivalence and trepidation. Months prior to the event a notice arrived in the mail announcing the reunion and even the launch of a Web site, God forbid. I figured maybe some fantastic date would appear, a la George Clooney or Fox Mulder. I remained uncharacteristically
The Saturday morning of the event dawned and I was still undecided. But thanks to the encouragement of a good friend, I sucked it up and donned the perfect outfit. I arrived late and greeted my classmates with pride as the DJ played KC and the Sunshine Band.
Gone were the pretenses and boundaries between social groups. The entire group mixed and mingled. Social outcasts of the past chatted with former cheerleaders. Married-forevers, some attending without their spouses, actively sought conversation.
The 20-year was far more than just validation of the single state. It was about group bonding where social castes were broken down and everyone just had a good time. Funny that REO Speedwagon's "Keep on Changin'" was our class song, because that's what many of us had done.
Marcia Jedd contemplates running off to a Caribbean island to avoid her 25-year reunion, but then again, she may just want to attend.
Her web site:
www.marciajedd.com