Reunions

Last night was Lincoln's 20th high school reunion. It was the third time that I've been to a reunion with him and every time has been a totally different experience. The first time - at his 10th - it was at a bar/restaurant and it was definitely more of a party atmosphere. Most of the people weren't married yet or if they were a lot of them didn't have kids. Lincoln and I had just started dating and weren't even engaged yet. Five years ago, when we attended his 15th reunion, I was about 2 weeks away from having Jake. I wasn't the only pregnant lady there but I was definitely the one that was closest to her due date. We didn't' stay long for that one. It was in a hotel ballroom not far from Upton and whenever we go to social events Lincoln sort of relies on me to be the social one and the one who can make small talk with people I've never met but he went to school with for 12 years. (Strange, I know.) Since I was so largely pregnant and uncomfortable we didn't stay long at that reunion and it wasn't much fun for either of us as far as I could tell. Last night was in the same ballroom as the 15th reunion but it was yet another totally different experience. This time I didn't see any pregnant people but there was a lot of talk about work and people being laid off and more "grown-up" topics. It is definitely interesting to watch a group of people age and mature over the past 10 years.

Lincoln and I went to my 10-year reunion four years ago so my 15th will be coming up next year. I'm not even sure we're doing anything for it but if we do that will mean a trip down to Arkansas for us. Last time it was held at the end of July and we took the whole family down there. Poor Jake - who was about 9 months old at the time - had a heat rash around his diaper waistband the entire time we were there. My poor New England kids (and husband) weren't used to the Southern heat and it had been a long time since I had experienced it as well.

I really do hope that my high school class does something for the reunion next year. I definitely don't get to see my Arkansas friends very often although I've been able to stay connected with a lot more of them through Facebook these days but I'd love to see everyone in person.

Reunions are a strange and wonderful thing. They can be an absolute train wreck or one of the best nights of your life. They're like a sociology experiment in a petri dish and I find them vastly entertaining.

Speaking of...

As stated earlier this morning, there are certain words out here in New England such as pocketbook and cellar that drive me nuts. Other words, like wicked, I have embraced whole-heartily.

Along similar lines, when my cousin Greg and his wife and friends were out here we went for lunch at 11:30 a.m. When he told the hostess we were there for dinner I think that really through her for a loop. She laughed and said "I think you're here a little early for dinner." Actually, as opposed to supper, we were there right on time.

This morning's conversation with Lincoln got me thinking about the different lingo that I've picked up (or been bugged by) throughout my life living in Iowa, Washington, Arkansas, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. Here are a few of my favorites and my biggest pet peeves.

Iowa/Minnesota: Supper and Pop. After 21 years away from Iowa I use these less and less but they still come up in conversation every now and then. The funniest story I have about this is when we took Lincoln's brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and niece back to Iowa with us for summer vacation a few years ago. When we got to my parents house in Wisconsin they offered them pop and cheese curds. Wha??? I think they were so stunned and confused by the word pop they didn't even hear the part about cheese curds at first.

Washington: Honestly, I can't think of a single thing that I picked up in Washington State other than soda (vs. pop).

Arkansas: Ahh....Arkansas. The land of y'all and fixin'. Y'all was an easy one to pick up but I swore I would never use fixin' until it just slipped out one day and then it was all over but the crying. I love that one. I don't use it as much as I used to but I still enjoy a good "I'm fixin' to go to the store. Do you need anything?" every now and then. One I never did like....and will never embrace....is the use of the word buggy for a shopping cart. A buggy should be something you push your baby in, not your groceries. The other one that made me laugh is coke as a word to cover all soda (Washington), pop (Midwest), or tonic (Massachusetts). As in, "I'd like a coke please." "What kind of kind of coke?" "A Sprite, thanks."

Massachusetts: As previously stated, pocketbook and cellar drive me nuts. So does bureau for a thing you put your clothes in (that's called a dresser in my opinion). I actually don't mind packie so much, it just doesn't come naturally to me. I have, however, fully embraced the word wicked. You can really use it in just about any situation. For example, "This post is wicked random, what the hell is she rambling about?"

Yes, these are the thoughts I have when stuck on my long commute. Similar to my "Ode to Massachusetts Weather" the other day. I really need to find a job closer to home.

Facebook

Despite having a blog I'm slow when it comes around to getting on the technology bandwagon. By the time I got around to setting up a MySpace page I was told Facebook was the way to go and that MySpace was "obsolete". Then of course Twitter came along. But I'm slowly warming up to Facebook.

This past week a very good friend of mine from high school in Arkansas (hi Cody!) contacted me via Facebook. I hadn't chatted with him since college and he wasn't at the 10 year reunion so it was great to hear from him. After I was "friended" by him it started quite the cascading effect and now I've found a number of more high school pals online.

If it wasn't a small enough world already it just got a little smaller and I, for one, am okay with that.

I would have preferred the beer

Today at lunch Hannah ordered iced tea with lemon. It's not something she orders often but she does like it. Iced tea is a huge deal in the South and when we lived in Arkansas it seemed like everyone drank it although I never acquired a taste for it. When Hannah ordered the iced tea today it made me think of a funny story from when we flew down to Arkansas for my friend Stephanie's wedding.

We flew down to Arkansas the day before the wedding (without the kids) and arrived in time to head over to the rehearsal dinner. We were a few minutes late and most of the people were already there. When we walked into the room I looked at all the tables that were set up for dinner and I thought to myself "This is my kind of party....all the place settings already have a glass of beer at them." Then I realized it was iced tea in every glass. Talk about a let down.