Outlet malls, the flu, and class reunions

Well, I managed to escape the flu that passed through the house pretty well, but Missy hasn't fared so well. She continues to fight off a stomach bug. Hannah was only sick Wednesday night, but I hope everyone is on the mend! 

Mom and I braved the craziness of Black Friday a few hours early this year. We went to the outlet mall in Lodi at 11 last night (Thanksgiving), and hit some stores. I bought myself some new clothes with the deals some of the stores were having, and then we came home and slept for about 4 hours. Then we woke up and headed out to Mansfield, where we went to Best Buy, Toys R Us, and JoAnn Fabric. I didn't plan to buy any of Hannah's Christmas presents this weekend, but Toys R Us was having some great sales, so I bought.... and finished shopping for her! Gulp! Hope I can rearrange my budget since I was planning on waiting until the 15th of Christmas (read: next pay day) to shop. It was so much fun! We literally waited in line for two hours, and the line wrapped around the entire store! People were in great moods, so that made it even better. 

Tonight, I went to my 10 year class reunion for Loudonville High School, class of 1998. My friend Lisa went with me, which really helped to fight off the nerves I might have otherwise experienced as I walked back into the midst of people who knew me many moons ago. Guess what? I enjoyed myself! It was very low key, and we mainly just mingled. It's not as if I think people don't like me. I know I was an unpopular popular person in high school - in other words, everyone liked me, but I wasn't the center of the show or invited to all the parties. I was surprised by the people that made an effort to come say hello to me. Again, these weren't people who mistreated me or anything, but I was sort of a quiet, under-the-radar, goodie-two-shoes. This humbled me as I realized that I'd judged those high school classmates in the way I feared they had judged me: I didn't want to be boxed into the person I was in high school, and here I had done it to them! Forgive me, Jesus. One classmate - a pretty devout partier in high school - even gently corrected his wife, another of our classmates, from gossiping about a peer we shared. I was surprised by this and pleased to see him exercise discretion and kindness. How people do change - which shows God can change any heart, whether it knows Him or not. We left as people really began to dig into the alcohol, and whew! I must live a sheltered life because the stench on some of my classmates was pretty overwhelming. Sadly enough, there was another who looked like he is likely battling a drug addiction. What an alternate reality, but it's more like, "There but for the grace of God go I." 

I'm really glad that I decided to go. God healed some old wounds, and I was able to be myself - the me I am now, not the me I used to be or the me I always wished I was or felt I needed to be. It was weird though, seeing people I haven't seen in 10 years, running out of things to say after about 5 minutes, and then awkwardly trying to decide how long to stand there before moving on! :) Someone, as I was leaving, said, "See you in 5 years!" That about sums up the depth of the relationship for sure! I enjoyed being able to tell people what I do for a living, and it felt good to hear their interest and admiration. I have to be sure not to feel pride in that and recognize that God works through me and it isn't me doing the work. Since I wasn't able to go back and talk about my husband or children, I am grateful the Lord blessed me with a career I LOVE so that I can feel professional (and spiritual) success as I imagine my married or parental classmates may feel about their personal successes.