Thirty years is a long time
I went to Lansdale this weekend for my (drum roll) thirty year high school reunion. Yes, I am actually that old. Horrifying, isn't it? I don't feel old enough to have been out of high school for thirty years. I can't believe I've been away from Lansdale for over 20 years. It doesn't seem that long ago I moved here.
It was weird being home. It's been a couple of years since I've been there. Normally going to a reunion stresses me out - seriously stresses me. Not this year. Part of that probably has to do with facebook. I figured everyone knows what I look like because I post a gazillion pictures. Everyone knows I'm no longer married. And everyone knows I have kooky kids.
It was nice to see my best friends from back then. Some have known me since I was five, others I met in junior high or high school. Any way you look at it, it's a long time. I was thrilled that people came and told me that seeing me was one of the reasons they showed up at the reunion. My heart was happy. When I lived there, I felt like an alien. I was proud NOT to be from PA (born in MA). I always knew I'd leave. Being there and listening to some of the conversations reminded me of that alien feeling and that leaving was the right thing to do. Still, it was nice to see happy people and hear people with accents that are more pronounced than mine!
Walking around Lansdale on Sunday morning made me realize that I don't belong there. Stores were closed (except the pretzel factory!). Everything was quiet. I passed probably 5 people the whole time. I need to live in a place with people and outdoor markets and restaurants with outdoor seating - life. I need diversity and lots of languages around me. Maybe, after 21 years of living here, this is finally home.
Yeah, that must be it.
But my heart will always be happy when I walk into a bar and hear a certain someone (and only that one certain someone) yell BITCH just like we were in 9th grade again. And I do love being around people who say water correctly. And Wawa.....sigh.......
It was weird being home. It's been a couple of years since I've been there. Normally going to a reunion stresses me out - seriously stresses me. Not this year. Part of that probably has to do with facebook. I figured everyone knows what I look like because I post a gazillion pictures. Everyone knows I'm no longer married. And everyone knows I have kooky kids.
It was nice to see my best friends from back then. Some have known me since I was five, others I met in junior high or high school. Any way you look at it, it's a long time. I was thrilled that people came and told me that seeing me was one of the reasons they showed up at the reunion. My heart was happy. When I lived there, I felt like an alien. I was proud NOT to be from PA (born in MA). I always knew I'd leave. Being there and listening to some of the conversations reminded me of that alien feeling and that leaving was the right thing to do. Still, it was nice to see happy people and hear people with accents that are more pronounced than mine!
Walking around Lansdale on Sunday morning made me realize that I don't belong there. Stores were closed (except the pretzel factory!). Everything was quiet. I passed probably 5 people the whole time. I need to live in a place with people and outdoor markets and restaurants with outdoor seating - life. I need diversity and lots of languages around me. Maybe, after 21 years of living here, this is finally home.
Yeah, that must be it.
But my heart will always be happy when I walk into a bar and hear a certain someone (and only that one certain someone) yell BITCH just like we were in 9th grade again. And I do love being around people who say water correctly. And Wawa.....sigh.......
Comments
Post a Comment