l a g n i a p p e.

So my 30 year high school reunion is coming up in two weeks…

Thirty years?! Really? Where did it go?! What have I done since 1987?

Let’s think…So I went to college, got pregnant, got married, had a baby, sold Pampered Chef, sold Discovery Toys, had another baby, got my real estate license, sold some houses, got my nail license, did some nails, had another baby, went back to finish college, taught some high school journalism, started a blog, got divorced, took some road trips, caught the entrepreneurial bug, opened a business, closed a business, moved back in with my parents, waited some tables, found some peace, met my favorite husband, moved to Louisiana and THEN I hear I’ve been out of school 30 years and there’s a party!

Facebook is buzzing with reconnects and daily Q&A’s initiated by our class president. Questions like Where do you live…What’s your occupation…If you had it to do all over again…. The answers are the best read I’ve read in a long time. Seeing how confidences have been gained and insecurities rejected has been my favorite part. Truth is, none of us had a lick of confidence back in high school. We were scared stupid everyday. I don’t know how we did it?

So why do we go back?

We go back to see the faces of those that walked the same halls and sat in desks next to us…those that lived on the same street …played on the same team…stole our first kisses and broke our forming hearts.  We go back to see where we came from and marvel at how far we’ve come…To see us with our fervent attempts to cover the gray, suck in our guts and do our damndest to not look damn near 50.

Ya’ll…we are damn near 50.

But we are still here and this is the sweet part…This is Lagniappe.

I discovered this word after moving to Louisiana and it got me to thinking…Lagniappe (Lan-Yap) simply means a little extra something-something. A gift with purchase…a baker’s dozen…16 ounces for the price of 12…a sweet surprise for good measure.

Today is lagniappe.

Yesterday was hard on all of us.

I think it’s safe to say we’ve all felt some deep hurt and pain at some point since 1987. We’ve shown up for battle and we’ve lost things in this war. We’ve lost our security, we’ve lost relationships…we’ve buried some of our parents and sadly even some of our children. We said goodbyes too soon and we hate cancer more than we ever knew we could hate.

We also love more than we ever knew we could love.

We are different now.

We’ve gotten the job and some even left the job to pursue a quieter life with less income…but also less fuss.  We’ve built the house in “the neighborhood” and sold the same house to go off the grid and see the sun rise and set without someone telling us how to mow our grass or park our cars.

We are different now.

Everything before this was strife and worry and wanting and reaching.  We’ve outgrown this. We are more gracious and appreciative of life…and breath…and today.

When I was teaching high school I had a student tell me one day…“Coming into your class is the best part of my day.”  This kid was not easy. She could be challenging. I knew her parents and I could only imagine what she endured when she got home so I always tried to offer some grace and a smile. I knew she was not alone. I knew the 8 hours some of our students spent at school just might be the best part of their day.  I committed to making the time they spent with me as enjoyable as I possibly could.  I thought about my years in high school and how there were days that I looked forward to getting to school to see my friends or a certain teacher or principal with a keen way of lifting my spirits and making me feel like everything would be alright. Thank You.

I really do hope I can make this one.  I look forward to seeing the faces of those who perk up when they hear the year 1987 like I do…

That’s MY year.

And the best part about going back after 30 years…

We’ve stopped worrying if anyone likes us and finally decided to start liking ourselves…

have a listen…