Jenica, Sarah, Sara, Kate, and me & Kristin up front
Jenica & her husband
Sarah & Sara
Me & Kate
The kids stayed with my parents, but it was their district's church camp, so they were in Hastings...
My dad, Me, Damaris, and my mom
Titus had fun blowing water through the pool noodle to make bubbles :)
We didn't get back until 1 AM on Saturday since we had to get back from church, but I was glad we could make it to the reunion.
It was strange to be there though. Almost everyone that was there (besides my HS friends) were people I hadn't seen since we graduated. Like I have mentioned before in a previous post, I was different then. Being at the reunion brought back too much in some ways...mainly based on a few comments people made - even in jest, I have to admit, it stung a little. In some ways it makes moving to Michigan harder. Will I run into people from my past more now that I live much closer? Will they still see me the same way? Will I be accepted?
And in the same moment I was thinking these thoughts, I thought about a previous conversation I had at the reunion with a friend of mine. I was talking about my whole journey these past 10 years and a small part of that was how I had to let go of what people thought of me. And yet here I was, moping about, wondering what people would think!! My learning to be myself (even if people don't like my perfectionistic, sometimes intense self) not just when I am around new people I meet, but people in my PAST has to be consistent. I need to be ME no matter who I am with and where I am. This had never crossed my mind since I was never really around my past. But now I will be...or at least within only an hour of my past.
God made us all uniquely different...and I need to be OK with how He made ME...and not try to fit what someone else thinks (or make other people fit what I think). Pretty elementary, but something I have always struggled with.
I guess I am still on this long journey to discovering myself and what that all means...but I think if I was honest with myself, I would have already realized that :)
3 comments:
I don't think you have to worry about running into people from your past a ton. I live where I graduated and I don't really bump into people I went to school with all that often.
We will be having our 10 year reunion soon too.... I don't know if I am excited or not? I still keep in contact with all my close friends and the ones I don't see have really changed. At the 5 year one, I was practically the only one with kids so I sure hope more people will be able to relate to me now!!
That's it, I need to photoshop my face into that group picture! I miss all you gals, maybe we should have had the reunion at Mongolian BBQ if MSP wasn't available :)
I don't quite know what you mean, maybe I'm not understanding the comments that reminded you of your past - but you were a smart, kind, organized, and good overall person (with a great choice of friends by the way); and I'm so excited that you get to return to our home state - it really is an amazing place that I miss!
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