20 years already?

Sunday afternoon returning from the land of cheeseheads and beer, I was exhausted but surprisingly satisfied with a weekend well spent in the mid of the west. 20 years earlier I graduated from Sauk Prairie High School and wow, a lot has changed since then however much has stayed the same. The town itself is essentially becoming a suburb of Madison. There has now been a 4 lane highway built connecting the two for rapid transit and the landscape itself looks dramatically different from when I was growing up. It previously was a huge deal to make the trip and it always had to be for something very special. Now, people do it at the drop of hat without really thinking about it. And talk about urban sprawl. There are mini malls everywhere and it's kind of gross. There is even one in my home town which includes a Pizza Hut. The hut makes my dad really happy, as well as other people I am sure. Progress? I guess. All in the way one looks at it I guess. It somewhat disturbed me. But many things back there do however I have taken to approaching it with grace rather than getting all worked up about it and let it bother me. Sure works a whole lot more effectively and makes for a somewhat enjoyable trip.

One thing which did help significantly this go around was taking time to do things which helped to maintain my regular routine from home. For instance, Thursday morning I went to a yoga class with my friend Shelly. It was a lovely anusara studio on the east side of Madison and perhaps one of the most wise decisions I have made in a long time. It made easing back into life with the family and decompressing post airplane an easy transition. It was a basics class and it was perfect for Shelly. She had tried yoga once at her gym and hated it. The instructor started class with a great theme about growth and blossoming (that was inspired by the torrential rains ongoing there this summer) and it was perfect for the union of bringing together the old with the new, which is exactly why I was there! Shelly loved it and couldn't believe how great she felt afterwards. It wasn't the most challenging class for me but anything was better than nothing and it really was a beautiful studio. We then went for breakfast at a yummy vegetarian place just down the road. Shelly and I got to discuss everything from politics to you name it. She's great. So glad that worked out.

It was then time to head home. Prior to doing so I stopped off on State Street and milled around for a while. Not much has changed but it sure doesn't have the same feel it did when I was a kid. The hippie-ness is somewhat gone although it does still feel really granola crunchy. More so over on the East side than the West but it's always been that way. Madison really is the liberal mecca in an island of midwesterness. I got to hang out at B-side records for a long time and made a few purchases at Ragstock, the world's best used clothing store. Steep and Brew was great too although they gave me a caffeinated double shot soy latte rather than decaf and I couldn't sleep that night. But it sure was tasty. In order to make sure I had something to eat when back at the ranch, a Whole Foods stop was made. I picked up a bunch of organic fruit, veggie burgers, soy milk, etc. and of course got the "Don't you like our food?" upon arrival. I explained it isn't that I don't like it, I just don't eat the same things as I used to in the past. This was followed with a discussion as to why I wouldn't eat the summer sausage on the plate in front of me. Oh well. Maybe someday the food choices will be respected. But not just yet. Eventually that night I made my way into town to hang out with my friend Shawna and her cousin Brett came over for a while. We ate brie and drank wine. YUM! Good day all the way around.

Friday I woke up and went for a run in town with Shawna. We did a whole whopping 3 miles but in the heat and humidity, felt like 30! It was a flat course which was nice for a change and she certainly runs faster than I routinely do with Miss B. The trail went all along the Wisconsin River which was very pretty and serene. Eventually we caught up with the high school cross country team who was out for their training runs. Of course they passed us up pretty quickly. The assistant coach was someone we went to high school with so we ran with her for a while and then made our way back to Shawna's. The afternoon activities involved a trip to Madison for lunch with some old friends and my sister. It was at this Irish Pub somewhere between Madison and Middleton. Good to see them. Then it was time to have a few pints with my Peace Corps friend Beth. She is hilarious! We went to this place called the Weary Traveler over on the East side and we chatted one another's ears off. The time went way too quickly and the next thing you know, it was time to head back to Sauk for the 20 year reunion.

Shawna and her husband Scott were my dates for the evening. I forgot to eat dinner before arriving at the event. Mistake #1. Mistake #2 was to be there without Miss B. I missed her so much and it was rough to make it through without her lovely self around. Everyone asked about her and wanted to meet her. Next time. I graduated from a class of about 190 kids. There were 135 in attendance, a good turn out compared to other reunions from what I understand. Hadn't been to one since the 5 year so a lot had changed. Several people had absolutely no idea who I was when I started talking to them. The general consensus from the evening was that I had gotten shorter and shrunk in size overall. I believe the shorter part came from now having short hair. The aqua net and curling iron added on at least 2 inches minimum in the past! So many of my former classmates asked about the wedding and were extremely supportive. I couldn't believe it! I was completely shocked and so happy to be so open about everything. Several of the people whom I went to kindergarten and onward with were there and it was amazing to catch up with them. So funny. Who would have thought. What was also nice about having been away for so long was that many people said "You are the ONE person I wanted to see for sure tonight!". How about that! Once the party was over everyone joined up at a bar called the Arboretum which is essentially in someone's basement. I used to play softball for them way back when. I had stopped drinking long before that and was just sleepy at this point. But I hung in there and chatted even more people up. So 20 years has past. And we are all better for it! Not sure if I will make the 25th but will sure go for the 30th! Fun!