Ten Years

I know it is hard to believe, but I graduated from high school 10 years ago.  Gasp!  I know, I am so young, right?  There must be a mistake.  Alas, it is true.  I am writing this post mainly so I can vent a little frustration and move on.  Feel free to skip it if you so desire. 

I will be honest, I have been pretty on the fence about attending my high school reunion.  Should I go?  Should I not?  Will it be worth it?  Will Stephen and I be looking at each other the whole time having a silent conversation on how quickly we can escape?  I graduated with a whopping 70 some other kids.  I went to a small high school where you know everyone, even if you don't talk to everyone you know who they  are.  I think I could flip through my year book and at least tell you what types of activities everyone did or who they hung out with even if I never spoke to them.  I graduated with some wonderful people who I care about.  Truth be told though, I am not close to a lot of my classmates.  Between being quiet and spending the majority of my high school career dating the same person (who I don't care to ever see or talk to again) I didn't hang out with a lot of people.  Alas, there are some people who I haven't seen since graduation that I would like to see again.  I also have good friends I have seen since then, but don't get a chance to chat with very often so I finally decided I would just go.  Besides, if nothing else it'd give Stephen and I an excuse to go out without our children. 

I knew early on that the plan was to have our reunion at a winery in town.  Not where I would choose to have it, but I figured there was a good chance of that happening.  There are lots of wineries in town and more than one kid I graduated with have parents who own wineries.  Not excited about the location, but wineries are very nice.  Last weekend I found out that it was going to cost $40 a person to go.  I knew we were going to have to pay something, but my naive little brain was thinking more like $40 for both of us not a piece.  I wondered what exactly was covered in the $40 so I risked looking like a cheapskate and asked.  This price includes the winery, food, and drinks (which I think we can all agree is wine, right?).  Maybe I really am just that cheap, but I don't want to spend that much money to go hang out with a handful of people I care about.  I don't know what they are serving, but with as picky an eater that Stephen is it is very doubtful that he would eat anything.  Obviously neither of us will be drinking any wine and do I really want to pay for other people to drink alcohol? No.  Do I really want any of my money to go to a winery anyway?  No. I feel like I am the only one from my class who actually thinks this is a lot of money to spend on a reunion.  I guess, that is what frustrates me.  I know a couple of people have three kids like I do, but most have less.  I don't know if anyone else is a student or married to a student, but I am. Am I the only one watching every penny? Quite frankly, Stephen and I never pay that much to go out.  That could buy me four boxes of diapers!  

My classmates can go and have a great time at the reunion.  I am sure it will be lovely for those who go, but I personally am going to spend my $80 on something much more useful.  Hopefully, I can see those handful of people I care to see some other time. 

But really I would like someone to validate my feelings.  Any takers?