I survived my 30th high school reunion.

I’d been a little nervous about going, but the anxiety spilled away as soon as the festivities began. It started Friday afternoon with some of my oldest/bestest friends coming over for dinner. Getting to really catch up with this group of ladies was magic – as if the last 30 years never happened. I’m blessed with wonderful friends from every stage of my life, but I grew up with this crew. They feel more like family than friends. There’s something amazing about being with people who really knew you as a kid — knew your parents and siblings well, knew what your childhood home looked like, when you learned to ride your bike, when you got your first bra, when you had your first heartbreak, what you got on your SATS (don’t ask). We sat around the dinner table and talked and talked and talked.

Lots of stories, laughs and glasses of wine later, we decided it was a genius idea to head from my house to our hometown to meet up with some of our old classmates. It’s been a while since I left my house at 11:00 pm to go out, but we were up for the adventure (and Uber go us there safely). Crazy to walk into a room full of high school friends and memories. Everyone dove right in sharing stories and people looked great. A few more gray hairs, but overall the Summit High School Class of 1987 is doing amazing — especially considering we’re all creeping towards the big 5 0.

The next day was more of the same. I went back and forth and back and forth between my family and reliving high school. I got a lot of quiet time with my close friends and crazy time with our graduating class. It was incredible getting to see so many people— hear so many stories.

I did get a little overwhelmed with a few conversations about our family. People who have followed Jack’s journey, but haven’t seen me in a while, seemed to be under the impression that I’m stronger than I am. Although I loved the support, it made me uncomfortable, so I did my best to break the spell. Two days and nights of acting like a teenager, and I think I proved that I really haven’t changed much from the Jesse Cappello from back in the day (for better or worse). I also did a whole lot of saying, “Jack is doing great! His life is complicated, but I promise he’s super happy! I’m doing great too! The whole family is great – super great!”

It was two VERY long days/nights – that’s all I could come up with.

It was an exhausting/incredible/crazy/fun weekend, and saying goodbye to my old friends on Sunday was tough — I really didn’t want the festivities to end. I brought Jack with me for my last round of back and forth. His smile always makes things a little easier. I also loved that my old friends got to spend some time with Jack this weekend and with Dan and Anna too (although Anna was kinda busy – we were pretending to be teenagers, but she’s an actual teenager). Being able to share my life with old friends was priceless, and I loved hearing about their lives – everyone has a story. We all walked away promising we would do it again soon. No need to wait for the 40th.

I spent the weekend going back and forth from pretending to be 18 to the reality of what 47 looks like for me. I grew up in Summit, NJ — only five miles from Maplewood, but it felt like a distance as I went back and forth all weekend. The towns are quite different and my life is too. Luckily, Dan eased the pain for me (my hero) and took the brunt of the weekend responsibilities, but there are always reminders that our lives are a little quirky. Warning friends not to sit on the “pee couch”, being a little late for the party because of a poop (not my own), having friends notice that, while I seem quite savvy at drinking, my son requires a tube in his belly to get hydrated.

BUT DON’T WORRY — Life is great. Jack is doing great! His life is complicated, but I promise he’s super happy! I’m doing great too! The whole family is great – super great!!

Love, Jess