Your reunion will probably go one of two ways, 1) you either have a great time reconnecting with old friends or ... [ more ]]]> Most people I’ve mentioned this to theory to disagree with me entirely, but having just been to my reunion, I am deeming myself expert enough to speak on this subject.

Your reunion will probably go one of two ways, 1) you either have a great time reconnecting with old friends or 2) you struggle to do so and don’t have much fun.

Having a great time reconnecting

Having your wife with you at the reunion can even help you reconnect with your old classmates with a few good softball questions to get the old stories going, but once you start reminiscing, your conversations will lean predominantly back-in-the-day. Stories she cannot relate to.

You could avoid that trap by sticking to current day topics: where do you work, how many kids? Good questions because the answers are interesting to you since they provides a “Where Are They Now?” for people from your past. But your wife didn’t know “Where Were They Then?” to have the right context to appreciate where they’ve ended up. To her, it’s a series of job titles and kid counts from strangers.

She eventually be able to find some people she can connect with herself, but don’t’ be surprised if those people are the other significant others, and the common bond is that they don’t know anyone here.

Not having such a good time.

If you invited your wife because you weren’t sure you’d know anyone and that the reunion, that’s hedging and it’s kind of unfair to her. You’re assuming the night won’t go well, and you want to be ready to switch gears and focus on her, making it now a night out with the wife, (oddly surrounded by dozens of your old classmates). Why not instead skip the reunion altogether and have a real date instead?

Because, it’s your reunion, and you want to go. Then go all in. Be ready to listen, ask questions about others, hear their responses and care about what they are saying. If you can do that, it doesn’t matter if you know or remember anyone there from back in the day, they will be happy to engage with you now.  And you won’t need to have your wife there as a back-up plan.

My approach

When I went to my high school reunion last week, there were only two people I knew were going that I could have at length conversations with, but I chose to go it alone expecting I could find things to talk about with everyone else, and I did.

Plus, but going it alone, allowed me to leave Selena to a baby-free night at home (win) while taking Kaylee to Delaware be babysat by grandma (win) while I went to the catch up with old friends. (win).

Everybody wins.

Selena and I are both very guilty of impulse shopping. If we want it and can afford it, shouldn’t we buy it? The only real test I use for the “should we” question is whether there is room enough in our condo ... [ more ]]]>

Would you prefer this cash instead?

Selena and I are both very guilty of impulse shopping. If we want it and can afford it, shouldn’t we buy it? The only real test I use for the “should we” question is whether there is room enough in our condo for it. That’s never seemed quite sufficient.

So I really like the concept of the Stranger Test as explained by a reader at FiveCentNickel:

When considering a purchase, picture a stranger offering you [the cash value of the purchase] or the item in question. Which is of greater value you? Which would you choose?

Reflecting back on our purchases at the outlets recently, Selena gained confidence that had a stranger offered her $50 she would have said, “No, thanks I really want this pair of shoes.” However, we has buyer’s remorse when we realized that had the same stranger offered us $14, we’d have taken it instead of the double-decker cupcake carrier.

What example from your recent purchases would fail the Stranger Test?

The "Drying" Tupperware

We put all the other dishes away days ago, but ... [ more ]]]> Every morning I wake up, go get a cup of coffee, acknowledge this stack of Tupperware still sitting on the counter, and wonder if today will be the day one of us breaks down and puts it away.

The "Drying" Tupperware

We put all the other dishes away days ago, but Tupperware is a different beast. I loathe dealing with it because I know that the cabinet we keep all that in is too over filled (primarily due to Selena’s insistence to keep every plastic dish like even old cottage cheese containers), it will barely close.

So, I was relieved when we were emptying the dishwasher and Selena grabbed all the Tupperware. It was now her problem to figure out how to reengineer the stacks of plastic items already in the cabinet to fit these in too. Except she’s no dummy, she knows it’s impossible to put these away, so she just sits it on the counter “to dry”.

They have been “drying” on the counter now for ten days.

I will confess it bothers me that they just sit out not put way, so the odds would be in my favor, except that Selena loves to cook and these plastic items are right in her food prepping area.

Who do you think will finally give in and put the Tupperware away?

Meet “Gross Kitty.” This is her glamour shot. She has been referenced in other posts. This is my favorite childhood toy that still lives in our room and goes places with me. It is not unlike “Gross Scuttle” or “Gross Bunny,” which I have seen in the homes of some ... [ more ]]]>

Meet “Gross Kitty.” This is her glamour shot. She has been referenced in other posts. This is my favorite childhood toy that still lives in our room and goes places with me. It is not unlike “Gross Scuttle” or “Gross Bunny,” which I have seen in the homes of some of our friends. The toy that is hugged so often that it fits like a jigsaw piece to your body. The toy that you are afraid to wash after a while because you fear that all that will remain is what you can rescue out of the lint trap.

Greg has a great affinity towards Gross Kitty. I anticipate he will have many happy things to say about said kitty.

I’m glad my favorite comic finally drew some attention to an issue that hits close to home for us.

We certainly have our pet peeves and there are plenty of things that bother Greg that don’t bother me and vice versa. One of the best things about how we match up ... [ more ]]]>

I’m glad my favorite comic finally drew some attention to an issue that hits close to home for us.

We certainly have our pet peeves and there are plenty of things that bother Greg that don’t bother me and vice versa. One of the best things about how we match up is that we are both fairly laid back and not easily offended. We’re not the kind of couple that thrives off of debating hot button issues with each other. However, we both agree on one thing that gets us both equally rattled up.

I don’t usually get on a soapbox very often, but I cringe at jokes regarding how people are. I lived most of my life caring for my physically handicapped mother until it took her life. Greg’s sister, who has Down’s Syndrome, is fortunate enough to belong to one of the most loving families I have ever met. It appalls me how widely the use of the word “retard” and its variants have made its way into modern colloquium and how this is promoted by related jokes in the media.

I am saddened that there is not a bigger advocacy group that can help the mentally handicapped. And while it happens much less frequently, I have on occasion heard a terminal disease joke or something of that nature which affected me more than I let on. The fact of the matter is, until you become associated with someone who has special needs, it’s hard to develop a sensitivity to certain things.

Because of its popularity and its flow in the mainstream, Greg and I try not to fault people for using words that are sometimes hurtful to us. In most cases, we realize that references are in jest and hopefully not meant to specifically target the handicapped community. However, we can’t say it doesn’t still make us cringe on the inside.