The Sisters Christian...Motorin', Baby!

Ok, so before I get started telling you all about the party this weekend...by far the most awesome Reunion party I have ever attended...and that is saying a lot coming from me, who started this whole blogging thing two years ago to promote my 15 year college reunion. I love Reunions...and this one was so great, so satisfying. But I'll get to that...before I get started, I need to relay a little chat I had last week with my Boston BFF, TL.

I was early for pick up, parked on the side of the school, my jealous and possessive five year old bouncing around the car, whining for my undivided attention. Perfect time to call TL, right?! So at any rate, we cover a few points of business relating to a meeting we had scheduled last week for the Stonehill College New York Alumni Council...(I think I might actually be TL's NY-based secretary, by the way, but that's another story altogether). Anyway, so TL says to me: "I have been following your blog of course and I have to say, you and your friends certainly like to have a good time." And I swell with pride...yeah, we are a fun bunch. But then I note the tone of his voice, which is kind of impressed, but there's a twinge of concern there...so I laugh and say: "Oh yeah...Suse and I were just saying the other day that people are going to start thinking we are a bunch of alcoholics." And TL deadpans, no discernable sarcasm in his voice: "Well, honestly, now that you mention it....I was wondering that myself." !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And TL lives in Boston....the problem drinking capital of the universe!! A bunch of suburban broads cutting loose seemed cause for concern??? Yikes! Or maybe he was angling for an invitation to the next bash...not sure. I responded by cracking him up with the line: "Oh TL, I am not some big drunk...I am just popular." Hahahaha....Either way, don't we all go to parties so that we can stand over the buffet table like some two-legged Hoover, fonduing our way from house to house, comparing fashion finds, accessories and shoes with friends and neighbors....I know that's why I socialize... And would I be able to recall my experiences with such clarity? No, no....no need for an Intervention -- well, maybe for the fondue problem, but that's it....Thanks for caring though, TL... Oh but, make no mistake, I do love parties...that is an addiction I will proudly cop to.

Which brings me back to high school...

So this past May marked the 20th anniversary of my graduation from The Academy of the Holy Angels (I was a prodigy, of course...graduated at 15...) and to mark the occasion, the school made a half-hearted attempt to host a Reunion: a Mass followed by a tea, which I think they held in the caf. Really? Were they joking? So, sadly, none of the women of 1988 attended...none of my friends...none of the extended posse...no one. And we felt a little like jerks for missing it...but, truth is, we are a dynamic, fun-loving group...we needed a festive celebration to commemorate our milestone. And you know, I really prefer to attend events in which I have some say in the planning process...I know, very controlling of me, but true. So, after batting it a around a little, mentioning it on Facebook and all that, my girl Stacey and I finally decided to take the bull by the horns...we picked a date and set about spreading the word. And the response was amazing (let me tell you, quite a bit better than the response to my last college reunion, even with all that damn blogging....)...I received emails and calls from girls I had not seen since graduation day, even some I am not quite sure I spoke to in those four years. And the messages were coming from far and wide -- Atlanta, Boston, Midwest, California, South Carolina -- all asking for details and plans and expressing their excitement that finally we would all be together again.

So this past Saturday, after modeling a few outfits for Rob, settling on the straight, dark jeans, the 4-inch high gunmetal gray patent leather t-straps and a fuschia/navy combo on top...the getting-too-long hair painstakingly blown straight (yeah, my hair is actually tempermental and wavy...things you do not know about me...), lip gloss in place...I set off for the event. And when I arrived at The Cornerstone in Hillsdale (which many of you will remember as JP Anthony's...and then Bourbon Street....the site of many a reckless youthful evening...), I was directed downstairs to the lower bar, which was set aside for our group...perfectly festive with it's exposed brick walls and 15 foot mahogany bar. Stacey was there waiting with Ange and Geri and after we squealed for a few minutes, I introduced myself to our staff, and, of course, the bartender (Jimmy) and waiter (Sean) immediately became my best friends...what else is new? And after I sweet-talked Sean into making the general manager change their satellite radio station to the '80's mix station (hello, what's a 20-year Reunion without a little "Paradise by the Dashboard Light"...oh, right...that's the 70's...ok, a little "Walking on Sunshine"...), we set about greeting the rest of the girls as they arrived, a

 little house Chardonnay in hand...Stacey clad in her sophomore year A.H.A varsity jacket...such a hot fashion statement...

And all of a sudden, the onslaught...it was like one-by-one blasts from the pasts -- I could barely process one, when another was right behind her. First it was Gina P. (pride of Secaucus) and Lisa M....and then Patty D. (rocking by far the hottest shoes in existence since Gwen's party stilettos) and Christy Ann with a new, blonder highlight job that she said her mom told her was "an admission that she's getting old..." Love it!! And then my girl Cathy S. (Sabu!) showed and frankly, I had to muster all my power not to smother her with hugs...one of my best girls, I hadn't seen her in at least 2 years. And then Darts made her way in...the one friend there that night whom I have known almost as long as I have known Allison...so much history. Then there was Adriana, and Kim D. with Veronica...who none of us knew was coming, great surprise...then it was Pam S. and Bridget and Janie and Sally and Tara and Kerry (who confessed to me her fantasy that Murph would secretly come in from Atlanta and surprise us...and I wished it too...) and Jenn and Beth and 

Eileen and Lisa P. and Welbis and my besties, Case and Al

 and Lyncher...And there was AMO -- signature ginger locks

 just like in high school -- and Tracy F. and Geri O'S. Then all the way from Kansas City, Carolyn F. and her very brave husband, the only male willing to navigate the Holy Angels waters with us that night (well except for late showings by Patty's gorgeous boyfriend and Kerry's doting husband...)...I was impressed. Laura M. was the last to arrive...nine months pregnant...rocking it out despite the unwieldy belly. You know...it was just this whirlwind of

 faces...these girls, each and every one of them looking to me exactly like they did at age 17...but more beautiful. Everyone was just beautiful.

So, of course we all caught up...were impressed with one another's professional accomplishments and gaggle of children to brag about. We laughed our a**es off at the stupid '80's fashions 

and the weird Catholic school teachers (Mr. Carrara and Miss Stanzione got married....eeek!!)....and those Alzheimers-afflicted nuns who were still teaching us (no wonder I have such poor knowledge of US History, but I can tell you what Sister Ruth ate for breakfast every morning). And we covered all the social happenings of '88....rolling eyes at boyfriends and hook-ups and prom dates...played "guess who married who" and "guess who's divorced from who"...revisited memories of the Bergen Catholic-Don Bosco rivalry.....Patty and Casey and Pam talked up the Bosco cheerleading years, Patty insisting she could still cartwheel, even in those 6-inch

 strappy shoes...We covered the best parties, checking to see if Allison could still recall exactly where we were and what she wore every single weekend night of Senior year...and for a moment we smiled looking back at the force that was Lawrence...Cathy and I recounted that final Senior summer...and Allison once again raked Lyncher over the coals for grouping with Sally and Mary and Cathy one day in Religion class Junior year, leaving me and Al as a group of two...we'll never let it die, Lyncher, you can count on that....

So we had Sean snap a couple of group shots...and then Darts and I went upstairs and batted our eyes at some guy eating dinner with his girlfriend, asking him to photograph our group from up above...Of course we talked about those from our class of 162 who were unable to join us...and the two that, sadly, we have lost. And all that high school hierarchy and politicking wasn't even a factor...everyone just wanted to see each other because, well speaking for myself, there is nothing like a true sisterhood...and that is what we had with one another. And though I think I knew back then that we were enjoying a unique experience -- 162 girls, all together, coming of age -- it was much clearer this Saturday night...again, I felt blessed and lucky because we are forever linked.

I know...I should end there, right...on that final heartfelt thought. But there's more...

Ok, so then....at 10:30, our party wrapped up and the manager came to me to settle the bill...and he warned me that they had to open the lower bar to the rest of the patrons, that they would be turning on more current music and that our open bar was now closed. And so, we said goodbye to many of the girls...just a few of us hanging around as the entire joint filled up with 20-somethings. And so we danced for a while...and drank a little more and hugged and took photos. I have a memory of Darts and I sort of dancing with the most ginormous man in the room -- was he a bouncer?? -- he looked like Notorious B.I.G., but was very sweet....Still not sure how that started...And there were some cute boys waving to us and winking and all that...but they were boys, no use to any of us, of course...and we no real use to them. And though we were having such fun and though we had the run of the room, it started to become quite clear to me that we were bringing the average age of the place up to around thirty...yeah, it was getting about time to call it a night.

So, I did a quick sweep of the joint, kissing and hugging the last Class of '88 hold-outs and then ran over to Sean and Jimmy with a final extra tip (my best friends, remember them?...on top of the extra cash, each of them received a juicy kiss from me as well...because, you know, I am a very generous tipper...). And as I turned away from them, heading towards the stairs, some 20-something guy with no hair grabbed my wrist and said: "Your boyfriend must hate you." And I was kind of stunned for a second...where the eff did this guy come from? I didn't know him, did I? But I gathered my thoughts and said: "Do you mean my husband must hate me?" and he goes: "Well, I bet both of them do....because if you were mine, I would never let you go out without me." Ok...he got me...I was speechless for the first time in history. So I just shrugged, still not quite so sure how that all rounded back to me being hatable, and said: "Thanks, I guess..." and turned on my heels and ran up the stairs...not looking back. Where was this guy when I was actually young and naive enough to be flattered by his odd gesture?

I suppose my hairless friend was picking up on the high school vibe that my girls of '88 and I were exuding...and maybe in the muted lighting he didn't see the un-Botoxed laugh lines and multiple child-bearing hip spread. But, I guess 20 years later it is ok to take a little compliment -- inane and misguided, and probably as disingenuous as it was...why not end the night as I started it, with a little nod back to my 18 year-old self...Ha! yeah, why not? Because you know, she is deep inside me still...she is posting all the party pictures on Facebook...giggling and leaving messages and comments and relentlessly busting everyone's chops all across cyberspace...and of course, already on to planning the next gathering....just like the good old days...

Photo 1: Al, Geri, Ange, Case and Me...Allison already cutting loose with her giant cup of Diet Coke....watch out!

Photo 2: My permanent position at virtually any party...fondue fork in hand, Suse to my left...

Photo 3: Stacey and me...looking all charming and friendly...secretly controlling b*tches, hijacking Class of '88 reunion planning duties...

Photo 4: The girls start to arrive...Kim D. , Me, Beth and Jenn get the party started...house Chardonnay, please!!

Photo 5: Me and Stacey as she models her elegant and fabulous A.H.A. varsity jacket...not a pathetic look for a high school sophomore at all...

Photo 6: Sally (goddess), Veronica, Beth, Gina, Tracy and Adriana...hotter than ever...loving the funky glasses and dark tresses on Tracy...

Photo 7: Lisa, Ange, Casey and Eileen....did Ange drop that grin even once that night??

Photo 8: Lyncher, Me and Cathy/Sabu...my girls...

Photos 9 - 12: A selection of the Ladies of '88....

Photo 13: Me, Al and Lyncher...now wouldn't we three have made a terrific little Religion work group? Yeah, thanks for nothing, Lyncher...

Photo 14: Darts and Me...harrassing the upstairs diners...

Photo 15: The Ladies of '88...as seen by the upstairs diners...

Photo 16: Giddy group shots...too many seltzers and Diet Cokes, feeling a little tipsy...where's the fondue?

Photo 17: Darts, Me and Jenn...some of the last hold outs, awaiting the 20-somethings...how far behind is Notoriouos B.I.G.??

Photo 18: There she is...that little 18 year-old who lives inside me...