St. Joseph High School, Class of 1985

This past weekend (August 6), my graduating class "celebrated" our 20 year reunion. It was a bit anticlimatic, to be honest. Of the 26 people in my graduating class, 15 or so showed up. Some came early and stayed late; others came late and left early. It is very strange to see the people that you grew up with as full-on adults with mortgages, kids, and spouses. Hell, there are people in my class that have been married 18-20 years! Then again, there are some who aren't married at all, and some who, like me, have been married more than once. It's a pretty accurate sampling of the real world, but it's still very strange.

It's funny sometimes how things happen. I spent a good amount of time talking with a former classmate who left after 10th grade, and it turns out that she wasn't as put out by me as I had always thought she was. In fact, even in her slightly intoxicated state, she was very sincere about the fact that she may have had more than just a passing thought about me! What?! What the hell did I miss there? She was (and still is) extremely attractive, and she has a name that holds some status in my hometown. My wife even agreed that she was very attractive, and we all spent a good amount of time talking about the past 20 years and the mistakes we had made along the way. Another one of those oddities...

There are people from my class who hadn't had kids yet, people who were still having kids, and people who had been done having kids before they were 21 years old. All in all, it was really good seeing everyone again, and it's amazing that you remember the faces even after not seeing them for 20 years. I went home feeling the same way I did 10 years ago after our 10th class reunion--good and bad. Good because I couldn't think of anyone that I would have rather graduated with than those 25 misfits and bad because it reminded me of all of the mistakes and heartaches of the past 20 years. A mixed bag of emotions at the very least.

At the very least, they reminded me that I was getting older, and that life is everything you make of it. So, I went home with my wife, told her how glad I am that she is here, and spent the night dreaming of days gone by. And now I'm going to help myself to a cold, frothy adult beverage and try to forget that I'm screaming towards 40 years old. Until next time...

Back to School

So, it's now August, and soon the yellow buses will be on the road, the kids will be back in school, and the days begin to get shorter. This has been one of the best summers of my life, and I really look forward to many, many more. I have had my kids for nearly 8 full weeks, and with the help and patience of my lovely bride, they prospered. My son went to summer school and raised his poor score in Algebra II to a 'B', which I knew he could. It's a shame he hasn't had the motivation from his present home, but hopefully once custody is settled that will change, as well.

As motivation for his future school year, we purchased a 1994 Ford Ranger Splash pickup (pictured here) off of Ebay. We got a 'second chance' price because the original bidder was not able to complete the transaction--good deal for me! We made the trip to northern Indiana, where the truck's owner met us (the truck was originally from Flint, Michigan). My son spent the entire next day washing and waxing "his" truck, only to have the front of it covered with bug splatters after driving back from Indiana! It's a great ride, and once we put our "personal touch" on it, it is gonna be a ride any 16 year old would be proud to drive! Now if he JUST knew how to drive a 5-speed...

The job has kept me VERY busy, but I really enjoy the work. I've ran across several of the people I used to work for, as well as some of the associates that I knew beforehand. Former cruising buddies, ex-girlfriends, drinking buddies...I guess we all finally grew up! I'm due up for a raise soon, and I'm always happy to accept more $$!

We have tossed around the idea of moving to Indiana, as Leslie fell in love with the area while we were up there. The clean, neat nature of the towns, the moderate summer temperatures, the well-manicured lawns, and a family that is second t0 none were just too much for her (and me!) to resist. We don't have a timeline in mind, but it could be sooner...or later. Either way, it looks as though Indiana will be our final landing spot. It's about time!

That's about it for now. Not much changes in my life. Eat, sleep, work...repeat. The kids are back with their mother for the time being, but they'll be back again in a few days. Money has become less and less an object, and the bills have been getting smaller and smaller. I won't ask the fateful question at this point, but it's going really well, and I just don't want to jinx anything! So, until next time...