The Class of 1996

We just returned from a whirlwind trip to Denver City for Josh's ten year high school reunion. We stayed with Josh's grandparents (Homie and Glenda). It was so much fun to get to meet and hang out with Josh's old buddies. It gave me a better understanding of just why Josh enjoyed high school so much. We have discussed our high school days before. I couldn't understand just why his time in high school was so great. Now I do.

The kids in the area where he grew up are so much different than the kids that I grew up around. The kids that went to school with Josh seem more well adjusted, more genuine, and FAR more mature than many of the teenagers that I grew up with. It was interesting to get to hear lots of the guys and girls share their old memories with each other. It helped me to know more about what Josh was like in his younger years. I even found out a few things that surprised me! (For some reason, Josh left out a few stories about himself that his friends were happy to fill me in on! :) Josh was glad to go back. We have plans to see some of those friends again soon. It had been ten years since Josh saw many of them!

It was neat to see how people had changed (or stayed the same) in ten years. It was interesting to see the paths that different people had chosen. There were some people who looked exactly the same, others who had changed so dramatically that they were hardly recognizable. There were people who seemed genuinely happy and a few that seemed extremely miserable. There were people there who probably hadn't thought about high school in years! There were others who just couldn't let go of the past. It was fun to see the mix of different people and different lives that all had a common beginning.

I wonder how things will have changed in the next ten years? If the Lord wills, in ten years Mary Alice will be 15. Major will be 12. Josh and I will have been married for 18 years. That is mind boggling to me! I have changed so much in the last ten years. Will the next ten years hold that much more change for me, for us? In some ways high school seems like just yesterday. In other ways it seems like SO long ago. I hope that God blesses us with ten more years to grow and change for the better. So here's to the class of 1996! May the next ten years be even better than the last!