As I mentioned in the previous post,
On Easter Sunday, Brandon texted me about having a 20th high school reunion this summer. I wasn't too thrilled in having another one because the one in 2012 failed miserably. I had paired up with Allison and Tara and they basically under minded me into doing an event they wanted to do rather than the one I planned for. So, mine got cancelled, theirs was underwhelming and like five of us met up at Farelli's in Lacey. I told myself I would never do it again but somehow, I got talked into doing it again.
I decided to do a low-key, come as you are, park gathering at Rainier Vista. I chose Rainier Vista because it's near my house and it will make planning and setting up easy and we all graduated from Rainier High School so Rainier Vista seemed appropriate. I created a Facebook post and an event for July 23rd because that is when I was available to host it.
This is what I wrote:
Class of 2002 20th Reunion (please spread the word if you are in contact with someone who graduated or was in our class at some point and to those who do not use social media and you are in contact with them.)
Date: July 23rd
Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (drop in, hang out)
Rainier Vista Park
5475 45th Ave SE
Lacey, Wa 98503
There is also an entrance to the park off of Ruddell Road.
There is plenty of parking, restrooms, a playground, paved walking paths, ball fields, a skate park, volleyball, basketball, tennis courts and lots of space to hang out in camp chairs reminiscing about the good 'ol days.
Brandon and I were brainstorming about what to do for our 20th reunion; yes...it's been 20 years. I can't believe it either. With social media at the end of our fingertips, it is really easy to know what everyone is doing and see their pictures and so on. Reunions have kinda been pushed aside over the last decade or so. I know there was some talk on Facebook about a possible Vegas trip, which is fine, go ahead, plan and do that, but we all know that for some people it's not quick in the budget right now or some other "adulting" has come up recently or it's just really not their scene. It's all good. This is why we've decided to hold a low-key, come as you are event in Thurston County since most of us still are within 50 miles or so of Olympia/Lacey.
I understand that some of you may still be a little weary of Covid and being around a bunch of people might make you twitchy and therefore you might not come. That is your choice, and we respect that. If you do come and want to wear your mask, that is also up to you, and we also respect that. I will have some hand sanitizer and some anti-bacterial wipes with me. We also know that not everyone will be able to make it because of other plans or they work weekends. I apologize in advance; this is just when I can do it and be there to make it happen.
With that being said, this will be family friendly, and you can bring your dog if you'd like. I live near the park so I will be able to grab a space because I think it is first come, first served. I have a couple tables and will be bringing a few camp chairs. You are responsible for your own chairs, so bring them. Also, I will be providing water, ice and I have a couple of coolers to keep them cool. This is a bring your own drinks (pop, water, iced tea...etc.) event. There is no alcohol allowed in the park. I might bring some snacky foods like Chex Mix, veggies, fruit or some sort of chips but if you want actual food, bring your own food and turn it into a fun picnic with your family, friends or dog. It you want to bring something to share with everyone, that is totally up to you.
I gave my contact info and hoped people could make it.
Then Allison got on there, created and posted a secondary "reunion" at Puerto Vallarta the Friday night before my event. I was irritated because this is the kind of passive aggressive childish things adults do now apparently when they don't get what they want.
After my massage and chiropractic appointment that Tuesday, I went to Costco to get some water, Walmart for some snacks and the Dollar Tree for bowls, napkins and serving utensils. I tried to keep the orange and black school colors motif.
The day of,
I got up around 8:30 because Mom called me to tell me she was on her way to Saturday sew. Not sure why she had to call me to tell me that, but she got me up earlier than I wanted to. I asked her if she was interested in going to Relay for Life at North Thurston and walk a couple laps later and she said she was. We would talk about it more after my event and her sewing gathering.
I ate breakfast, got in a shower, put clothes on and made sure Doug was up to help me like he promised he would. I ran over to Walmart really quick to grab some bags of ice and Alicia texted me about dropping off money for watching her dogs the week before. I had her meet me at the park since that's where we were going after putting the table and pop up in the back of the truck. She said she would meet me there in a few minutes.
I put the water and ice into the coolers and put those in the truck. I grabbed all the bags of stuff I had packed up the night before and put them into the Escape. I was even clever enough to bring our high school yearbooks to thumb through if anyone was interested. Doug helped me load the back of the truck. Doug drove the truck and I drove the Escape over to the park.
We found the spot I had scouted out the day before and he helped me unload everything and even helped me put up the pop up. He went home and told me to let him know when to bring the truck over again. Alicia showed up and she helped me finish up the decorations and setting up while we chatted. She paid me before leaving.
Nick Molenda and Nic Wolfe were my first two guests. We chatted for a good half hour about how much of a disaster the event Allison put together the previous night was. Both of them were pretty disappointed they went but I got my answer...I was glad I didn't go.
Lacey showed up a little while later, so we all chatted with each other about our jobs, where life has taken us and sky diving. Brandon, Victoria and their dog, Sammy soon followed. I haven't seen Brandon in years, and I didn't realize how much Victoria loved to talk and I only met her for the first time at their wedding back in October 2016. A little while later, Lindsay and Justin came with their baby Wes. Between these groups of people, there were many conversations going on at once and I made the rounds.
Rebecca and her husband Chris came with their rescue dog Rolio. This was the first time any of us met Chris. They got married just before Covid and plan on having a reception later on. I haven't seen Rebecca in person since Lindsay's wedding in July 2018, so it was very good to catch up with her and meet her husband.
Terry Burnham, a classmate, who started at Rainier and stayed for a good portion of school and then graduated in Tenino. We still consider him a Rainier kid even though he didn't graduate with us. It's been more than 20 years since I've seen him in person. He lives in Tenino with his wife and teenage kids, has a pretty good job, property and drives a huge ass truck. It was fun catching up with him as well even though you could clearly see this wasn't his crowd of people.
About an hour before it was time to clean up, Rusty Rossmaier came and stayed for a little while after work before going to his wife's parents house for dinner in Eatonville. It was good to see what he's been doing as well. We chatted for a bit about his go cart racing, his job and his married life. We briefly talked about how his sister; Ravae was up to.
I thanked everyone for coming and got a group picture of us before people left. We weren't able to get Rusty in it unfortunately.
I was super disappointed in the rest of the class. I was aware that some people live far away, and they couldn't make it but like 60% of us live within miles of Olympia, they could have come for a little bit or drove by to say hi. I guess my biggest disappointment was that if they couldn't make it or didn't want to go to let me know on the will attend. It takes like two seconds, and I know these people are on their phone and Facebook because I can see their posts!
Rebecca and Brandon helped me clean up and I called Doug to head over with the truck. He showed up around 4:45 and we loaded all the stuff up in the back of the truck and I thanked everyone for helping me. Everyone went home. Doug and I headed home as soon as the clock struck 5 p.m. because that's what time I told everyone I would be there until. Doug helped me unload the truck and the Escape, I folded clothes and waited for Mom to be done at Costco.
We hopped in the Escape and drove to the Dollar Tree to get some wrapping paper (for the baby shower I was going to go to the next day) and then went to North Thurston to spend some time at Relay for Life. We haven't been since 2019 when it was held at Komachin Middle School. 2019 seemed like ages ago now when life was kind of normal.
We walked a couple laps, chatted with Jonathan and Kristy for a bit and ended up walking three miles while gathering lap beads. We will have to be more organized next year so we can spend more time and walk more miles. Maybe even join a group?
We got hungry and it was way past our dinner time. Mom called Doug to see if he wanted to meet us at Hops and Drops for food. He actually agreed and he met us there. Mom had fish and chips, I had a chicken sandwich and Doug had a burger while we chatted about the day and other random things. Afterwards, I had to get gas and Mom went home. I folded clothes, did the night chores, got another shower and went to bed. Today was a very long day.
Next Adventure: Adventure Labs, Geocaching, World's Largest Fork, Victor 23 and Papa Pete's in Southwest Washington
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