contact home links about where i've been n stuff

Thursday, September 15, 2005

there was no "busting down" of any double doors

Last night, I was talking with my new best friend that I hardly know, and her old best friend (make sense?). We all graduated from high school ten years ago. Class of '95. Also last night, I took Curly with me to the store (for her bday party supplies), and we were listening to Rusted Root while riding along in Kari. (I'm not usually a fan of naming vehicles, but after that extra scene from The Incredibles, I just knew that Kari had to be the name of my car. Full name is Kari the Provo-mobile, as it is a white Ford Windstar with a Mary Kay sticker on the back window, and what could be more Provo than that?) Ahhh, Rusted Root. I've seen them in concert a few times, and it was always enjoyable. One show in particular sticks out when the bass player was laughing at my Burger King crown, and the opening band was called Bonepony. Ahh, the details I retain...

But listening to Rusted Root with Curly took me back. Thank you, Dick Clark, for telling us that music is the soundtrack to our lives. (Really?) Rusted Root means high school, which, for me, means early nineties. Grunge. Flannel shirts. Hiking boots. Kids at school wearing Keltys fit for a trek to Mt. Katahdin. Tye-die was in there somewhere, but not too much.

When my kids are older and hear "Smells Like Teen Spirit", will I tell them it's the anthem of my youth? I mean, not my youth, personally, but generally?

The thing that got me thinking while visiting with these two friends last night was, they had the same thing going on as I did, but they were in Provo and I was in Jamestown/Busti/Lakewood/West Ellicott (I'm still not quite sure from where I hail). We all read "Go Ask Alice" in middle school, and were quasi-obsessed with it. We had the same music, the same fashions, all grungey. (We also had a million differences, but that's another story.)

While some of those similarities are age-specific (class of 95, wherever you may be), others are age-general, or just school-general.

Here's what I mean by age-general: Li'l ~j. is now 6, and in first grade, so she says, "...sitting in a tree; k-i-s-s-i-n-g...", which is not only what six-year olds do in Provo and in Jamestown, and all over the place, but what they HAVE BEEN doing and will continue to do for...well, ever.

And here's what I mean by school-general: Cheerleaders are cheerleaders, and that's all there is to it. Know what I mean?

School-specifically, however, there are differences. Provo High seems to me to be a pretty large school, numbers-wise. Southwestern, not so much; fewer than 150 in my graduating class. Because of the smaller school, we had people that could be, and were, on the football team AND in the marching band. That's right, during half-time, they'd march in their football uniform. That's school-specific.

So, we have age-specific, age-general, school-specific, and school-general. Does that make any sense?

My ten-year class reunion was this summer. I've not written about it here yet because, well, I'm still processing it all. I had a hand in planning it, and, while it rolled along smoothly, it was NOT all I had wanted it to be (how much can I do, being 2,000 miles away? The locals got to do most of the planning, and they did a dang fine job.). But still, it was nice to see people. One girl, who I was very good friends with in middle school particularly, looked me right in the face and had no idea who I was. No idea. Remember, with a school that small, you can feasibly know most people, and well. Now, I know that I am atleast double the size I was in high-school, and maybe it was the fact that on the night of the reunion, my hair was blond(e) and straight (only for the night, or until I got it wet). Maybe that was all the difference needed...was my brown, curly hair my calling card? Was that how I was known? Or am I the odd one because I immediately recognized people and knew who everyone was?

There were some people that weren't there that I'd really liked to have seen. I also regret not talking more to some of the people that were there. But it was nice to see the people that were there. My favorite thing was that Mike Ireland was wearing a nametag that said Nader Geliel. Now that's funny.

My new best friend went to her reunion, as well (her friend didn't). She said that there was a group of guys standing in the corner, observing and talking about who was the "most improved". Huh. I hope that didn't happen at mine. I feel that I've improved about 3,000% since the day I graduated high school. That's not evidenced by any college degrees, of which I have none. Nor is it showcased by my body, the image of which I struggle with every waking minute, and even in my sleep. I'm a stay-at-home mom, with three beautiful daughters at home and a little boy in Heaven. I have a wonderful, supporting, loving, humble, patient husband who would do anything for his family, and works harder, WITHOUT COMPLAINT, than any man I know. I have my own business through a company that gives me unlimited potential and will assist me in making lots of my dreams come true.

And, I'd like to think the best of me is still hiding up my sleeve.

20 comments:

Bek said...

That was a really nice blog. I didn't go to my hs reunion. There were only 60 people in my graduating class and I figured that if I didn't keep up with them by now, I didn't need to see them again. Also, I was one of only about 6 girls that went to college from my graduating class. Yes, 6. Many already had children.

I feel much more connected to the people that I met at uni or say, that bag my groceries at Safeway. I remember sitting in my graduation ceremony and hearing the student speaker talk about how we had just had the best years of our lives and how they wished it could go one forever. I distinctly remmber thinking "I am pretty sure the best years are ahead of me, not behind" I was a good student and had lots of friends, I just never thought that my greatest life experiences would culminate in high school.

Was this conversation during the same event that is on c jane's most recent blog? How interesting.

Thanks for all the support lately. I am officially out of the fog and moving on with things. :-)

QueenScarlett said...

I love that John Mayer song... ;-) Thanks for sharing your reunion... and the age, school - specific details.

It's so true that it's a quality of life... that is important. You can have all the degrees in the world and be miserable. And vice versa... it's all about what we do with our lives, who we share our lives with and embracing change for the better.

I love your last line... YES the best is yet to come. ;-) But the present is pretty dang sweet.

Cheers!

wendysue said...

The main thing I noticed about my high school reunion, (except for the one chick who was still 'too cool for school'), was that everyone just looked better, felt more confident and was happier. You couldn't pay me money to go back to those tough years in high school. I love my friends from then but I'll take them as they are now a million times over!

p.s. all I wanted to do during our 'school tour' we did for the reunion was run and hit at the locks again "I wanna be an air force major, I wanna live a life of danger!!"

Carina said...

Mine was last year. I still have friends from HS that I see often. My friend A didn't want to go with me to the reunion because, she said "They all think I'm the same person, and I'm not." I thought that was so funny, because none of us are the same person, and thank goodness.
Yeah, we're all a little rounder, hair a little thinner, and most of us a lot more humble. Ten years can really kick you around at worst and make you more mellow and sweet at best.
I felt like nearly everyone I met was a better person, I know I am.

Goodbye old me, I'm so glad my life didn't peak then, how boring.

~j. said...

Bek - Where did you go to high school? And as far as it being cjane...maybe it was and maybe it WAS. I'm glad to hear that your clouds are lifting.

Queen - I love the photo you posted of you and your friends before your reunion. How fun that must have been for you!

wendysue - "BE-EE- FORE THE DAY I DIE!!"...

Carina - I certainly had those same apprehensions, but just concluded that everyone else did, too. By the way, THANK YOU for bringing me that tape today! Always a pleasure to answer the phone and hear, "Hi, Jenny? This is Carina from the blog." That was great.

Bek said...

Jen,

I am a proud graduate of Wasatch High School in Heber City, Utah. I didn't really grow up there, my mom did though. We moved there right before I started High School. I hope that my post didn't give the wrong impression, I LOVED high school. I just didn't feel that I could relate to many of the people I went to school with. It was when I went to BYU that I felt I really found people that had more in common with besides proximity! :-)

I have said it before and I will say it again, growing up in Heber was like living in a post card, but it still was a very, very small town. :-)

Carina said...

How bizarre was that? When you opened the door it was like, do we shake hands, hug, make out?

~j. said...

Yeah, I know. Didn't know if you're a hugger. But your shoes were FABULOUS!!!

La Yen said...

You said Bonepony.

Carina said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Carina said...

Thanks about the shoes. They're the red sandals with the true stack heel referenced in one of my posts.

And YEAH I'm a hugger! I'm also a maker-outer, it kind of gets complicated at family reunions.

C. Jane Kendrick said...

Speaking of huggers...we had a whole group of them at my high school. In between classes they would form a big group and cry and hug and cry and hug. It was so intense that they were nicknamed "the huggers" then it was like, "do you know Shelby?" "Oh yeah, she is a hugger right?"
Jen come over again...let's talk High School some more. I.E. did you do School lunch or off campus lunch?

QueenScarlett said...

So I'm responding to CJane with the lunch question...

We did both... But senior year it was lunch out as often as possible so our poor humanities teacher had to deal with the late ones.

Our fav lunch spot was this loud japanese restaurant... the bento boxes were our favorites. And the waiters all shouted at you when you came in... too bad they weren't attractive - we were all skeeved out that they'd oogle. Remember when oogling was repulsive? Now I'm kinda like... A little oogling now and then - not so bad. heheheh

~j. said...

They'd shout at you? Like in Monsters, Inc.?

QueenScarlett said...

Exactly like in Monsters, Inc. hehehe I love that you brought that up... I was like - Monsters, Inc.? huh? And then I remember ... googly... ;-) They're supposed to say something in japanese - like a greeting ... not being japanese I have no idea what it is they're supposed to be saying. ;-)

And for our bdays - because we were all in high school - they gave us sprite shots not sake. ;-) hahahah

~j. said...

We weren't supposed to leave for lunch. My favorite places to go were Johnny's Lunch, and a little joint called Ye Olde Nut Tree, where I would get a smoothie and a "stripple decker" sandwich.

Carina said...

It was a challenge to get down to Taco Bell or Wendy's during the lunch hour (PHS always had it easier!) Sometimes we'd go to Ripples or Fast Eddies for sandwiches.
Jenny, I just read on Wendy Sue's blog that you hate flip-flops. I guess you're my new best friend as I despise flip flops.

Carina said...

As a follow up, do you know anyone who taped last night's Gilmore Girls? I made my one mistake a season last night and taped the wrong channel.

~j. said...

Hm. I'll have to do some research on that one. And I need to get your tape back to you, as well. Also, what time is your party on the 29th? Is it at your place?

Carina said...

7:00pm at my place on the 29th. Anyone who wants to come is welcome. Little people welcome too as mine will be running around. Email me at carina1 (at) gmail.com