10 Year Reunion

Last Saturday, on the way to my ten year high school reunion, my wife asked, "is this going to be like prom for grownups?" It was a fair question considering "prom for teenagers" was one of the last times I saw some of the people I went to high school with. It also clearly communicated the concern most of us had about our ten year reunion. What would we talk about with a bunch of people we are no longer connected to by football practice and 5th hour biology?

As the evening progressed, I discovered that there was plenty to talk about. By the time we got home after 2am, we had officially had a blast. Don't get me wrong. I have no desire to turn back the clock and go back to high school. They were great years but that doesn't mean that I need to relive them. Parents say that every phase of a child's life is the best. I've felt the same about my own life as well. The year 2010 is better than the year 2000. And even if there is no need to go back, it was fun to sit and reflect on four years that went a long way in determining who I have become. It was also fun to celebrate it with the people I shared those years with.

I think everyone shows up at their ten year reunion, or any reunion for that matter, wondering how they measure up to their peers. I'll admit that it was in the back of my mind. Yet I walked away from that night realizing that there was no comparison. We are all trying to figure life out. Some of us might have good jobs or multiple kids. Some seem to be further down the road to adulthood. Yet behind all of the degrees and successes, we are all just trying to figure life out. We're trying to determine how to be parents... how to live together with a spouse... how to juggle career and life... and how to make it look like we have it all together.

That night reminded me that it is possible to enjoy the process. Life may or may not have turned out like we said it was going to ten years ago. That's okay because that's not the point. The goal isn't to check everything off your list by the time you are 28, 38, or even 68. The goal is to continually progress. To continually become a more complete person and to evolve. To live life with no regrets and to get better with age.

Here's to the next ten years!