Not as young as I used to be…

Vertebrats reunion 2006.  I had to take a nap today.  Forty-somethings with two little kids aren’t used to staying out til 2 in the morning two nights in a row….at least not this one.  If they were playing again tonight I’d be there though.  Of course my children and my babysitter would probably revolt….but hey—somebody’s got to give. 

I don’t think I’ve processed the last two nights well enough to really write about it but I can’t help it.  There was something very validating or reassuring about the last two nights.  It made me realize that there really was–and is—something special about the Brats and the people who love them.  As I reconnected with people—-people from all over flew and drove in—I was so happy to realize that the reason I loved this crowd was the funny, smart people who loved the Vertebrats as I did….and do.  If it had been purely a matter of proximity I would have ended up being friends with people down the hall in my dorm or in my class.  That wasn’t it though—it really was a special time of music and camaraderie.  The Vertebrats were everything they always were—and that is very, very special and more than I could have asked for.

This was also the closest I have—or will—ever come to a high school reunion.  Or as my friend Sasha put it—-it was like a high school reunion if you could have chosen whom you went to school with!  I stood in the back of the room at one point and thought to myself—there sure are a lot more bald spots out there than there used to be—-and some of the women are built more like me than they would wish—-but none of that mattered.  It was interesting to me how many of us sort of apologetically said what we were doing for a living.  Not because of success or lack of success—just as many people said—‘oh I’m working for the man now’ —–but of course aren’t we all in one way or another….  And none of that mattered—I never felt that anyone was measuring anyone else in terms of success or looks—-we were all just so happy to be there.

They sounded good on Friday night but on Saturday night they were fantastic.  That was the reason we all came.  The songs have been going through my head all day one after the other.

I could have stayed all night if only the babysitter hadn’t been waiting.