Nothing ever changes in a small town.

Okay so my busy Saturday started out a bit confusing and slow, then picked up a bit, then ended in utter disappointment.
First off, Mom, Dad & I had a good time this morning at the Memory Walk. We got there an hour early because the time on the website was wrong. That's okay. There were a total of eight Team Inez members. We were the second largest team. West Lauderdale High School's HOSA club was there with about 20. I won first place for most donations raised by an individual. I got a trophy... (I've got pictures. I'll load them later.)

After the walk, I went home to quickly shower and we headed for Quitman for a BBQ with Wes' parents. Kevin & Kim were there with Dalton. He's 10 months old. Precious... (I'll load those pics tomorrow)
Then off to the reunion....

Since I got home from the reunion tonight, I've been thinking about the meaning of the word. Reunion. It means a seeing someone/something you haven't seen in a while. Reminiscing about the days of old and catching up on the times in between. Well, that didn't happen... At all. It was like I stepped back into high school. First of all, I felt really bad for Amber. She put a lot of time (& money) into this. There were only nine "graduates" there. Out of the nine, there were two couples. (Wes was actually the only one there who DIDN'T attend Enterprise.) The owners of the building kind of jipped Amber by promising live music, but then reneged on that a few days before. Also, Amber was given a lot of "maybes" and had to estimate for the caterer. Well, ALL of those maybes turned into No's. She ended up in the hole big time.

When I got there, everyone was standing around talking. I tried to mingle around, but got the cold shoulder a few times, just like old times. Instead of asking each other how are things and where are you know? The questions I heard were where did you go last night, and why didn't you call me back the other day. Questions that you'd ask someone you see often. I suddenly realized that I was the only one asking the typical reunion questions. So for me, I was at a reunion. To everyone else, it was simply another get together. I felt alone. I felt like Wes looked. Bored and not "knowing" anyone, displaying that "courtesy laugh" you give when you really don't want to be in the conversation. I also came to realize that I was the only one there who left Enterprise and never went back. Everyone else wasn't there for a reunion. They reunite everyday. At the school when they drop off their kids and see their former classmates as teachers. At church every Sunday. On Saturdays at the pee-wee football or baseball game their kids play together on. I'm not in any of those things.
I was expecting a room full of friendly, mature, grown-up faces, and "What are you doing now?" questions. I was prepared with my camera, pictures, printed cards with my info on them and a notebook to collect addresses. I never took my camera out of its case. I showed Kim & Michael a picture of Pete. That was it. Funny how these things turn out. I was looking forward to reuniting with folks and I came out with nothing. Not even an address or phone number. The only positive is that I've reunited with Amber. And that was just by luck of running into her at the fair last week. I don't yet know what to say about all this. I'm a bit confused, but I know I shouldn't be. I'm not going to dwell on it. Actually, it somewhat reiterates the reasons for several life choices I've made throughout the years, if that makes any sense.

I'm going to bed now. I had 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night and I have to be up early for Sunday School and church. (The banana bread is very good by the way!) More on all this later. I'll load pictures tomorrow.

E