Reunited...Part One

St. Patrick High School Graduations Class of 1996 invites you to a reunion on July 1/2, 2006. Please Bring your registration fee, an atomic bug bomb, a new liver and a set of house keys.

Austin D. invites you to his 5th Birthday party on July 2, 2006. Please bring a camera, a lifetime's supply of patience, and a Plumber.

I arrived in Yellowknife on Thursday, in time for the last day of school for Public kids, whereas Karyne had only a half day because she's with the Catholic school system. I was entirely ready to see her family, and entirely apprehenisve about going to the reunion, but I'd payed my money, so I was in. Karyne and I ran a couple of errands which included a funny story about a little ceramic 'E' magnet, and then we went to fetch the boys. We picked up Brady from school, and he was very shy about seeing me, giving me the most prefunctory wave and "Hi." Then we went to get Austin from his last day at Day Care ever, and the little Monkey attacked me with his customary 'I'm too cute to resist' hug. Awww....

When we arrived back at Karyne's new, very big and impressive house, the plumber was there to do an inspection and replace the thermostats, and we settled in to decide who was invited to Austin's Birfday party. Brady, ever the quickwit, had us in stitches as he kept telling Austin that he should invite *points silently at the Plumber* That kid really cracks me up sometimes, but he can also beat a good joke to death :) It was a lazy night, and that was fine by me, as I needed to settle in after 2 plane rides and a slightly upset stomach. Karyne and I ended up on the couch in the TV room having a pretty serious discussion about various things impacting our family.

On Friday, Karyne and I ran some more errands, this time for Austin's party, and my day was pretty well just hanging out with the family. Again, I needed to collect myself ahead of the dreaded reunion, and it needed to be an early night because I was getting up so early to meet with Karen to help with the menu, shopping, etc. in the morning.

Come Saturday morning, I was up and out of the house before anyone was awake, and off to start reunioning. We met with the kitchen manager at the restaurant and finalized the menu (it was 9 am, so none of us were up for major discussion, so it was a short meeting full of agreement), then we went to buy the supplies and food for the BBQ later in the evening. I went back to Karyne's to chill for a bit and watch more World Cup, and we arranged for her to come get me when I was ready to leave the reunion. Karen came to get me, and off we went to set up. And sit and wait. I was not sure how to feel about the reunion, knowing that most of the people who said they'd come by were people I didn't hang out with a lot back in the day.

People started trickling in, and I relaxed a little when I saw Gord, Dave and Denise, feeling like I wasn't about to be a total outcast. As more people came by, and I'd had more to drink, it became easier to have a good time, just catching up with people's lives. My sister's ball team was hosting a tournament all weekend, and they were hosting a karaoke night at the BP's lounge, and since Dave was on the team, he, Gord and Denise were headed that way, so I decided to go with them and cut out of the BBQ early.

Now, there's almost this running joke about who I didn't date in high school, and I can't swing a dead cat around Yk without hitting an ex, but I was not prepared for what happened at BPs. There I was, partying with Gord and Dave, whom I dated briefly, but then I turned around and saw Jared in front of me, and I was visibly stunned. Three ex's, it was like one of the old bush parties all over again. But then a short time later, Gord informed me that one of the Jeffs was also there, and I seriously needed a drink. That's just my kind of karma...even though I'm friends with most of my ex's, it's just awkward having so many of them around me because wow, this just made me look like a flake back then! Did I really date that many guys?

So there's a lot of drinking, and some Chinese food after we closed the Lounge, and then I walked home. It's Yellowknife in July! Land of the...screw the Midnight Sun, it's the land of the 1, 2, 3 AND 4 AM sun, plus, it was only like 10 blocks or whatever. I got there, and the door was locked. The cars were locked. The house was a fortress. So I started calling and knocking. Nothing. I rang the doorbell, and Sully came up and barked like mad until he realized it was me, then he just wandered away. It's 3:15 in the morning, I'm tired, I stink like campfire, and I just want to go to bed. The mosquitoes were frigging awful too. For four hours I kept trying, and it was getting cold and buggy. I tried to just sit and get some sleep, but the bugs were just too awful. I was crying, and calling and everything. Seriously, one of the worst nights of my life. 4 hours later, at 7:15, a bleary-eyed Scott came up and opened the door for me, and I'm sure I looked like a monster with my crying and gross hair and wood smells. He asked how long I was out there, and I told him, and he looked like I'd just surprised him with a kick to the head.

I crawled up to bed and slept a few hours before I had to get up and get ready for Austin's birfday, and at some point in the morning, Karyne had come in to check on me and apologize, but hey, shit happens. It was not a night I'd ever like to relive, but hey, ain't that just life. Everyone left me to go to the party while I finished getting ready, and Karyne came back for me, but fuck, I felt rough. Austin's party was fun for most everyone, but I was finding That my nephew Beni has become quite difficult to deal with. The sweet, carefree kid has become so sullen and angry. It was heartbreaking.

Back to Karyne's place, where they handed me a house key, for a brief nap before the small reunion dinner. I woke up still feeling rough, and wanted to bow out, but I had helped put this together, so it would've sucked for me to duck out, so I got dressed, threw on a ton of costume jewellry and off I went. Again I was apprehensive because of past issues, but once it became clear that everything was going to be just fine again, I relaxed and had a few beer. Dinner was good, and it was good to see some more people I wasn't expecting to see (JULIE, MARRIED?!?!!? Fuck! That's awesome girl!). After supper, Gord, Karen, Sean and I decided to hit a keg party we knew of, so we hopped into a cab. The funniest thing was it turned into a gropefest with hands flying at random chests (including the cabbie, so sorry dude, but it wasn't me!) and when we got to the party, I ran into a few more faces from the old days.

I left early, knowing I was leaving to come back to Vancouver the next day, and I didn't want to be hungover while travelling, so I was a relatively good girl. Monday morning, I was up and hanging out with all the kids while I packed up for my afternoon flight, and I had the chance to reflect on the weekend. For the most part, it was all good times, and I didn't need to worry as much as I did. I know it's hard to be comfortable around me, and as long as I just try to be polite, there's not much else I can do. People just don't click.

Will I go back for 20 year? I don't know actually. It's fun, but very expensive. And since I hope to be working overseas by then, it would probably be ridiculously expensive. We'll just have to wait and see. For Pictures, see Reunited...Part Two