I’ll start by saying the FI is universally liked. I’m not sure he’s ever pissed anyone off in his life. His high school reunion went something like this: We walk into the bar, rousing chorus of “OMG [FI's first name, FI's last name] IS HERE!!! I LOVE THIS GUY! DO YOU KNOW HOW AWESOME HE IS?”
Mine went something like: We walk into the bar, I check in, give a hug to a friend stationed in Texas with the Air Force, and mosey up to the bar. No Sam Adams, by the way, so I settle for Heineken. I look around and try to find the nearest exit.
See the difference? The FI pretty much forced me to go to my 5-year high school reunion the night after Christmas.
I didn’t know if he would be able to go for a while in the lead-up to the big event, so I said I wouldn’t go unless he was allowed to come with me. Yes, I’m chicken. I also hate going into Boston by myself, since my sense of direction is horrendous and I would wind up somewhere sketchy. Plus, I’d be SOL if things went badly at the reunion and I had no one to talk to.
But it didn’t go badly. It was definitely awkward at first, and the FI couldn’t figure out for the life of him why I wasn’t talking to everyone there, but after everyone had a few cocktails, the atmosphere vastly improved. I gave and got hugs to/from people I hadn’t seen or talked to in 5+ years, and caught up with people I hadn’t heard from in ages.
Though I really didn’t want to go, I’m glad I did. I danced my butt off, hugged a million people, and generally had a ton of fun. In the age of Facebook (which came up in a few conversations… “I saw on Facebook that you’re engaged!” or “Your mom’s Facebook page said you got your dress- that’s so exciting!”), it’s still nice to see face-to-face the people that were a part, large or small, of your formative years.
See you at the 10-year!
