A college reunion

How old is too old to get drunk and call your dad for a ride home? Because Ben and I may have done that on Saturday. Have been doing that, periodically, for the last 12 or 13 years, actually, ever since our Bradley days in the late 1990s. (When we were younger, we used to make him take us through the Steak n Shake drive thru on our way home. Or we'd stop at the riverboat casino. One time, he stopped at the East Peoria WalMart just to screw with us, and drunk Ben spray painted a bunch of stuff in the spray paint aisle. Last weekend we just went home and passed out. Because we are old and have lost our mojo).

We were in Peoria for a reunion this weekend. It's been 10 years since I graduated from college, but the reunion wasn't an official function. We were at Bradley for Alumni Work Weekend, sponsored by the Bradley University Speech Team. I think I have mentioned before that Ben and I met at speech camp at Bradley when we were in high school, right? We were also on the speech team together all through college. Speech was our life-- I only applied to one school for undergrad, and I didn't even care about my major. I just wanted to do speech on the national championship Bradley team.

It is true that I drank away a lot of my college memories (a visiting job candidate recently told a story about me that I have absolutely no memory of, but it sounds like something I might have done), but what I do remember is having a ton of fun with my old speech friends, most of whom also came back to Peoria.

I only took 2 pictures of our banquet:
This one of director of forensics Dan welcoming everyone to the bar cum stage (because what's a speech event without speeches? a band camp reunion).

And this one of the obscene amount of shots that Gina bought everyone because she's pregnant and decided to drink vicariously.

I did take a few pictures of the actual coaching day. But only of my kids. Because I am a mom now, and that's how I roll. I was also rolling with visible panty lines, sadly, so I had to destroy most photos of myself (and untag them on FB). Getting old and frumpy is a bummer. I'd actually like to go back 12 or 13 years and tell my college self that. Sophomore year, around the time I got fat on Taco Bell and Mountain Dew. I'd like to say, "Dude. Seriously. Stop going to the tanning bed. Quit screwing with your metabolism BECAUSE IT WILL ONLY GET SLOWER, and really, you must chill. You don't have shit to do but go to class, spend your parents' money, and give speeches on the weekend. NOTHING YOU DO IS HARD. so stop bitching. Also? Sleep more because someday you will have children and will suffer from sleep deprivation the likes of which you cannot imagine. Oh! One more thing? Nude pantyhose and sparkly pink eyeshadow and hair scrunched with gel? Really?"




Harry and Jack also spent a lot of time with my parents and my brother. Because not only do Ben and I get so wasted we need a DD in Peoria, we also take advantage of all the babysitting we can find. My parents literally walked in the door from vacation in Mexico and wham! We threw our kids at them and sped out the door without a second look before the music on their iPhoto slide show had even ended. Thanks guys! Love ya!
Harry was super in to this Spiderman video game

Harry and Jack used Ben as a couch and a table on which to enjoy their donuts


Jack modeled my mom's sun hat

Jack is giving my dad the side-eye in tis picture. My dad freaks Jack the hell out, which is really really funny (to me. not so much to Jack. or to my dad whose feelings are kind of hurt)

I'd also like to tell myself of 10-14 years ago that leggings are not pants. What about you? Any advice for your undergrad self?