20th High School Reunion

Guess what came in the mail last week? An announcement that my 20th (Dear God) High School Reunion will take place August 2nd in dear old Vandalia (claim to fame: 1st crossroads in America), Ohio.

Do I go? Not go? I haven't a clue. Upon receiving the invitation, I raced to my computer to e-mail the 3 people from HS I actually keep in touch with, only to find 3 messages waiting for me reading, "R U going???"

In times of stress, I fall back on list-making. So allow me a moment to clear my head.

Reasons to Attend:

* There are 3-4 people I wouldn't mind catching up with.

• I'm thinner and in better shape right now then I ever have been. (Probably the BEST reason to attend. Work it.)

• High school still seems just like yesterday to me. It might be fun to visit that world and see what has changed.

Reasons Not to Attend:

• What if nothing has changed?

• Not sure I'm up for the self-inflicted frenzy of perfect hair/dress/nails/perfume/life chaos that will ensue.

• Time and money. It's an 8 hour drive, $50 for a bad chicken dinner I can't even eat, and Blair will probably be bored out of his mind.

The due date to RSVP is July 15th. I suspect I'll be up late the night of the 14th, debating yes/no. Any thoughts on this? I remember being young and my mom talking about attending her 20th reunion and how old I thought she must be, to be out of high school twenty years.

That karma will come back to bite you. =)

The Little Treats In Life

The perfect morning:

• Up early for a 7-mile trail run with a friend
• Spotting a deer bounding up a hill on the trail
• Treating myself to a Starbucks mocha and glazed doughnut for the car ride home after the run
• A clear sky with bright sunshine and cool temps
• Early 80's Madonna blaring on the car radio
• Knowing the whole day is mine to explore and to get work done.

Do I miss the corporate life? You know, not so much...

What's Good In Life

Enough of the negativity already--I'm wallowing in it. Let's focus instead on what is good in life:

• The uber housesitter left Eddy's Slow Churned Peanut Butter Chunk ice-cream in the freezer.
• She also left lager in the fridge. (That's a good housesitter.)
• If you'll recall from this entry, we'd lost the general contractor for our cabin. However, Blair found a brilliant man with loads of experience who came recommended by the Stokes County inspection center. He met with him and feels really good about working with him. Bonus: His name is Dallas. Important, I think, for a contractor to have a rugged name...
• While I lost some valuable data in the computer crash, it could have been much worse. Since I'm not doing a whole lot of freelancing these days, there wasn't as much to lose. Recovering what I lost will be uncomfortable and involve some mourning (like for the half-finished article I wrote that's now gone), but it's nothing I can't bounce back from with relative ease.
• The cats appear ecstatic to see us. They sit still to be combed and purr and wind around our ankles. The first night we were back, I woke up at 2 am to find a tabby had curled herself against my chest and under my chin and was pressed up against me as tightly as could be.
• It's awesome to be home. There's just something about being surrounded by your stuff that makes you feel good.
• I picked up the car today with it's "new" engine with 12,000 miles on it. Long live the Camry!
• There is a red cardinal on the tree outside the window as I type this, staring in at me.

So you see, life is not all angst. I tend towards the morbid and dramatic at times (shocking, yes?) but all in all, life is good.

Wal-Mart Doesn't Do Vanity Sizing...

Ah yes, now I remember why I pay large sums of money to shop at designer stores. It's so I can maintain the illusion that I'm a real size 6. Because people, let me tell you, the folks who make the Wal-Mart clothes can't be bothered with catering to our body-dwelling egos. They have no mercy.

We're going to the beach this month and since I haven't bought a swimsuit in, say 5 years, I figured I was due. Wal-Mart, I had noticed on our most recent grocery trip, had some cute mix and match tops and bottoms in swimwear. I had some spare time today, so I swung by.

And ended up sobbing on the dressing room floor. Well, okay, not sobbing... but I might have sniffled a time or two. Here's why.

I'm a medium girl. Tops, pants, shorts, shirts... bring me the medium. Nothing wrong with that. It's my niche.

So I grab some medium swimsuit tops and bottoms and head to the dressing room. Then head right back out for new sizes. Because I apparently need a LARGE for my ass and a SMALL for my top. Uh-huh. If that smiling little Wal-Mart face had bounced by I would have bashed him.

Whatever. It took me 30 years to get here, but I'm finally of the mature realization that it doesn't matter what size the tag says as long as the clothes fit and you feel good in them. And I feel charming in my large bottoms, so there.  It's just a shock after the Ann Taylor and Banana Republic vanity sizing lovefest where sales staff stand outside my door and coo, "Should I bring you the 4 to try on?" while they clear a path to the checkout counter for me. "Easily bruised self-esteem when it comes to beauty," should be tattooed on my forehead.

But hey--I got me one good price on a swimmin' suit. ;)