I am still trying to figure out how it happened….I turned my back for two seconds and somehow I managed to be out of high school for10 years…Ok so it has been 20, but it feels like 10!  I had a weekend of celebrating that fact at my Phoenix High School 20th Reunion. Serious reality check!I think that because my kids are young, I feel younger (unless its 9:00, then I feel a lot older!) I had so much fun reconnecting with so many people from my past, some of them I started in kindergarten with if you can believe it! I don’t have any really exciting stories to share with you, and frankly if I had to re-live talking about everyone’s kids one more time, I’d put myself to sleep. (don’t get me wrong, I love your kids, I just don’t want every detail from every person) You can send me letters…Anyway…I really did love seeing everyone that was there, even though most people were missing. (here is where I could go into our “mission” for the day is to attend the event if you RSVP yes so that a generous donor doesn’t have to pay for 30 people that didn’t show…but its not) The people that I wanted to see where there, and what I realized is that most of them live within a few miles and we never see each other. (now I could talk about staying in contact with people from the past…but I wont) We got out the old yearbooks, all the way to elementary school and got some great laughs out of the hairstyles, clothing, and just the simple fact that we were so tiny! (this is where I could talk about good nutrition, and taking care of yourself for the long hall…not today) I think what was most fun for me was to just listen to people tell their stories of the last 20 years. A lot of divorce, mostly related to picking the wrong person for the wrong reason at a young age, many wasted years making bad choices, then reconciling, and changing direction (I love those stories!) Many people shared stories of moves, job changes, financial ups and downs, and mostly of family.

           

     Listening to everyone’s life stories did get me to thinking. First of all, I wish that my kids could live life backwards…(I think they would make much better decisions!!!) I realized that everything you think you know about people (especially guys) in high school, 20 years later does not apply! The “jocks” gain weight and loose their hair (not that this is bad) the “geeks” go on to work for Microsoft and the guy you thought would never do anything goes on to own a very successful ”trucking” company (I purposefully omitted the names to protect the innocent) So I know that it is never possible to see the future or live life backwards but I did get to thinking a bit more about one of my “life mottos” and that is to Live so that you will have NO regrets! So I guess this is where I am going with this…

     Many people told much more exciting stories about their lives (compared to mine) and I must admit I had a few moment of jealousy. Most people traveled, moved and experienced a lot more than myself, and frankly some of it sounded glamorous! I have lived in the same area since birth and sometimes I think our family is cemented here because our roots run so deep. But that is ok…I made some mistakes in the past, some things I regret but as I have gotten older, I have realized that those make me who I am. I don’t want to live life so safe that I miss out on life, so by talking about no regrets, I really mean, taking chances, going big, (or go home) and living…Really living! As much as my life is cemented (some days that feels literal!) with my kids, husband, house and part time job, I can still live big in my small world. I don’t want to have regrets, so I will laugh as much as possible, say what needs to be said, go when I can, do what I can do. I can’t tell you what this looks like for you, we all have such different lives…Reconcile, say I love you, rekindle, invite, or build…Whatever it is, do it.

     When I show up at my 30th reunion, I may have exciting stories, I may not, but I am determined to have NO regrets!