38 Reasons to Attend your Reunion!

1. Because You Still Can!

(Life is short...Each day and milestone should be celebrated!)

 2. Because you're never too cool for your high school friends. 

 (and you'll be missed if you do not show up!)

3.Your family is tired of hearing your stories and you want to relive them with someone who actually cares 

4. Ummm…who else is gonna fill in the blanks to your slipping memory? Thank goodness for name tags!

 5. If we get a good turnout, we're gonna take a group picture in the form of a 58!

 6. You can share a drink with your friends without having to sneak into the bars.

 7. Because you still think you have a crush on..(umm, wait, don't think anyone  can remember!)

 8. If you don't show up, we'll assume you still have big/long or even no hair. But, no one really cares about your hair! They want to see you!

9. You know you really want to. (it just might be fun!)   

10. Hey…Who cares if we don't fit into our old bellbottoms?  Ya gotta stay huggable!  Friends just want to see you!

11. Network! Network! Network! (it's a small world and you will be surprised at how many "coincidences" life really holds!)

12. Because you're still upset that you were only voted runner-up for something. (but we really can't remember!)

13. Enjoy an evening out without the Grandkids.(don't worry, you might even be home before the news comes on...)

14.You've always wondered what happened to (um,can't remember!)

15. Show off your pictures (of your family,kids,grandkids, hot date,pets,car, vacations, etc!)

16. Renew old friendships. There's really nothin' like an"old"old friend!

18. Renew not so old friendships, meet new friends!

19. Get the latest gossip, as well as can be remembered. 

20. Because if you don't show up, you might be the subject of that gossip (if anyone can  remember!)

21. See and be seen.(because we might not remember, but it's fun to people watch!)

22. See if that old crush is still what you thought they were, or as you thought you remembered!

(the more some things change, the more some things stay the same...and the fun is in trying to figure out the difference!) 

23. Because you're curious and you HAVE to know what everyone has been doing for the last 40 years. 

24.Did we mention there would be lots of FUN??

25.You love reunions!

26.You have nothing better to do. (Sitting or napping on the couch doesn't count...)   

27. Because you want to go where everyone knows your name.(they just can't always remember!!!)

28.To talk about the "good ol’ days"! When we were "young", carefree and life seemed so simple...(What we can remember!)

29. You’ll laugh, cry and reminisce with some of your oldest friends.

30. We're going to play music that you "remember" (bring on the real music!) and maybe even understand, and that you can actually dance to!

31. Even if you didn't even like school, don't fret about it, you'll most likely find something to laugh about now after all these years.

32. Because you know you really want to!

33.You don't have to lie about your age. (well you can try, but some will catch on...) (Even if we did officially turn into our parents!)

34. Did we mention there would be lots of fuN?? 

35. It gives you a chance to humor those who have tried to plan these things...deluded die-hards that have hope that somewhere, some how it is going to make a difference...

36. Because some of us want an excuse to go back "Home"....if only for a weekend!

37. Because we really want to see you!!! Who knows when there might be another reunion!!?

38. And finally, studies have shown that those who were initially hesitant about attending their reunions, discover it was the event that they wouldn't have missed!

LIFE Happens..Get up, Get dressed, Show up...

Betchya you'll be glad you did!!!! (and so will everyone else!)

 

 

"Rekindled friendships often burn more brightly"

“Our Friends Are A Very Important Part Of Our Lives.  Treasure The Tears, Treasure The Laughter, But Most Importantly, Treasure The Memories."

 

Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

 

 

                  Why is it that at class reunions
         you feel younger than everyone else looks?

 

 

 Some people try to turn back their odometers. Don't bother, tell them you look this way because you've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.

 

Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don't need money, love like you've never been hurt and dance like no one's watching.

 

HOW TO STAY YOUNG...

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. " An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

 

If you're struggling with the idea of attending the Reunion, you are not alone...Apparently the internal debate is universal. We've all had some of the same thoughts. If we wait until we're rich enough/thin enough/successful enough, we would never see anyone again!

Read on and discuss amongst yourselves. We all need to realize that our classmates don't care about what we look like, the size of our checkbook, or how fast we've climbed the corporate ladder.

For a few hours, at least, we can all be 18 again! Well, 18 with wrinkles and reading glasses anyway...

 

TOP 10 EXCUSES FOR AVOIDING THEIR REUNION 
 

10.) I am not rich enough yet or my job is not high-powered enough.

When will you be successful enough to face everyone? In 2021 at our 50th reunion? Please don't wait that long --- life is too short to miss a chance to connect. Check your ego and attend our reunion anyway.

9.) I'm 58 and have not yet married, had kids, bought a house, written a book, sold my screenplay, traveled the world . . . (fill in your favorite personal disappointment here)

You have been doing something during these past 40 years. Come and tell everyone about it.

8.) I'm too heavy/going bald/have an embarrassing skin condition.

You aren't alone.  Try having wrinkles and zits at the same time! And most of us have another chin... None of these are good excuses. Pull on your Spandex, comb it over, slather on the Eucerin, and forget about it for the night.

7.) I didn't like  high school/"I don't care about those people"

Are you sure? Not one single person you can remember with fondness? Check your e-mail contacts list and I bet there is at least one faithful high school pal there. Message them and see if they are going. Ask if they would like to see you there. And the people watching is kinda fun!

6.) Everyone from high school disliked me or appreciated me..and/or I haven't kept in touch in 40 years, so why bother?
5.) I can't remember anyone's name.
 The feeling is often the same  for others...That's why God invented name tags and the bar.

4.) I'm afraid to see the one who broke my heart/whose heart I broke. Or, I'm afraid I won't see them

3.) I don't want my spouse to know what a loser I was in high school.

They already know and they love you anyway!

2.) I hate 60's music. I refuse to go anywhere where I might be trapped in a room listening to The  Beatles, The Temptations, The Rolling Stones and The Righteous Brothers

1.) I can't go because the dog has indigestion, I am having a  grandbaby, live more than 10,000 miles away, don't have permission from my probation officer to cross state lines...

OK, in those very special cases, you get a free get-out-of-reunion card, and we wish you well.

Seriously, there is something to celebrate about "yesteryear" and the fact that we can still celebrate! Many do not get this opportunity.

We hope to see you, because it won't be the same if you're not there!

...and here's another rendition of same...catch a theme here?

 

If you are NOT coming to the reunion, you need a good excuse and a note from your Mom. The following reasons have been tried and are

                                                   UNACCEPTABLE.

Excuse #1: I've gained a lot of weight!   
Rebuttal:  Look around!!  I doubt any of us could get back into our bellbottoms from high school any more.   

Excuse #2:  I'm a different person than I was in high school
Rebuttal: Lucky for you, we ALL are. Let's face it: we could only have improved.

Excuse #3:   I don't look as good as I'd like. I (choose one or more) am bald, have wrinkles, saddlebags, grey hair and no one will recognize me.
Rebuttal: Guess what! You won't recognize anyone else, either. We've all changed quite a bit since the old days!

Excuse #4: I'm not successful. I'm not (choose one or more) a lawyer, a doctor or rich.
Rebuttal: You'll be pleasantly surprised to find how much everyone has matured. We may be plump and wrinkled (see Excuse #3, above) but we're not stupid. Money is not success.

Excuse #5: I was not in a popular clique in school
Rebuttal: Now that we're old and smart, those cliques have dissolved just like the superficialities they were based on. The only cliques you'll notice at the reunion will be the sound of your joints as you walk around.

        Excuse #6: I just don't feel like it.

        Rebuttal: Life is full of things we don't feel like doing, but once you do them, it's not nearly as bad as you thought it would be!

        C'mon...try it,you just might like it!

We are more valuable than any of the younger generations:

We have silver in our hair

We have gold in our teeth

We have stones in our kidneys

We have lead in our feet

And

                               We are loaded with natural gas!

 

 

 

Smile! ....and always remember life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

 

1.  No whining or moaning over what "might have been," or anything else depressing.  No one wants a pall cast over this happy event.

2.  Seek out people who have made a difference in your life, and thank them. They will appreciate it.

3.  Check your midlife crisis at the door.  No one needs to know you are having an affair or that your spouse just left you.

4.  Do not brush off anyone who wants to talk to you.  It doesn't matter whether or not you liked that person in high school.  We have all changed.

5.  Bring an extra hankie, and cry all you want when you are overwhelmed by nostalgia and old friends.  Tears can be a great catharsis.

6.  All responses to questions should be at least two full sentences.  Don't be abrupt.  It will make you appear snobbish.

7.  Don't do too much bragging.  It puts a spotlight on your insecurities.  The best compliments are the ones you get without fishing.

8.  Any remarks about your baldness, weight or wrinkles should be countered with something humorous or self-deprecating.  No offense is intended.  Sometimes, when people are surprised at the change in the appearance of an
old friend, they don't know how to deal with it, so they try to mask their surprise with humor.

9.  Be careful how you approach others.  Be respectful.  Remember that you are dealing with someone's wife, husband, mother, or father.

10.  Be yourself.  We remember you from way back, and will accept you the way you are.

To my FRIENDS: 
In Kindergarten your idea of a good friend was the person who let you have the red crayon when all that was left was the ugly black one. 

In first grade your idea of a good friend was the person who went to the bathroom with you and held your hand as you walked through the scary halls. 

In second grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you stand up to the class bully. 

In third grade your idea of a good friend was the person who shared their lunch with you when you forgot yours on the bus. 

In fourth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who was willing to switch square dancing partners in gym so you wouldn't have to be stuck do-si-do-ing with Nasty Nick or Smelly Susan. 

In fifth grade your idea of a friend was the person who saved a seat on the back of the bus for you. 

In sixth grade your idea of a friend was the person who went up to Nick or Susan, your new crush, and asked them to dance with you, so that if they said no you wouldn't have to be embarrassed. 

In seventh grade your idea of a friend was the person who let you copy the social studies homework from the night before that you had. 

In eighth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you pack up your stuffed animals and old baseball but didn't laugh at you when you finished and broke out into tears. 

In ninth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who would go to a party thrown by a senior so you wouldn't wind up being the only freshman there. 

In tenth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who changed their schedule so you would have someone to sit with at lunch. 

In eleventh grade your idea of a good friend was the person who gave you rides in their new car, convinced  your parents that you shouldn't be grounded, consoled you when you broke up with Nick [or Glenn] or Susan, and found you a date to the prom. 
 

In twelfth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you pick out a college/university assured you that you would get into that college/university, helped you deal with your parents who were having a hard time adjusting to the idea of letting you go.

At graduation your idea of a good friend was the person who was crying on the inside but managed the biggest smile one could give as they congratulated you. 

The summer after twelfth grade your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you clean up the bottles from that party, helped you sneak out of the house when you just couldn't deal with your parents, assured you that now that you and Nick or you and Susan were back together, you could make it through anything, helped you pack up for university and just silently hugged you as you looked through blurry eyes at 18 years of memories you were leaving behind, and finally on those last days of childhood, went out of their way to give you reassurance that you would make it in college as well as you had these past 18 years, and most importantly sent you off to college knowing you were loved. 

Now, your idea of a good friend is still the person who gives you the better of the two choices, holds your hand when you're scared, helps you fight off those who try to take advantage of you, thinks of you at times when you are not there, reminds you of what you have forgotten, helps you put the past behind you but understands when you need to hold on to it a little longer, stays with you so that you have confidence, goes out of their way to make time for you, helps you clear up your mistakes, helps you deal with pressure from others, smiles for you when they are sad, helps you become a better person, and most importantly loves you!

Thank you for being a friend. No matter where we go or who we become, never forget who helped us get there. 

There's never a wrong time to pick up a phone or send a message telling your friends how much you miss them or how much you love them. 
 

If you love someone, tell them. Remember always to say what you mean. Never be afraid to express yourself. Take this opportunity to tell someone what they mean to you. Seize the day and have no regrets. Most importantly, stay close to your friends and family, for they have helped make you the person that you are today and are what it's all about anyway.