I don’t mind telling people that I’m helping plan my 2014 high school reunion. It’s only when I say, “It’s our 50th,” that I have a compulsive need to whisper, even if I’m not in a public place.

I know that some people are thrilled at the idea of spending an evening together with people they haven’t seen since their youth, but until now I’ve been indifferent to reunions. One reason comes from my indifference to high school. By senior year I was ready to move on. Another is that I don’t remember many people from high school unless we were also together in elementary school.

I went to college out-of-state and while I was gone my mother tossed out my yearbooks… without asking. Still, I told myself, I’d embarked on a new phase in life and I’d be fine without them.

I’ve been to two of my reunions and figured those would be enough to satisfy me for the rest of my life. I dragged my husband to my 20th, more to show that I had a husband than for his enjoyment. Even then I didn’t recognize many of my former classmates.

On the 30th, my main recollection was having to stick my nose close to people’s chests to examine the bite-sized graduation photos on their name tags. The guys were the hardest to figure out. At least the women still had hair. Even with the help of the photos I didn’t remember many of the attendees, not surprising in a class of more than 500 students.

However, for the next reunion – the really big one – things are looking up. I loved the first planning committee meeting. Our take-charge leader was just what we needed, and I enjoyed getting reacquainted with old grade-school friends. Best of all, come September 2014, I can count on recognizing the seven other committee members.

I’ve been told that at later reunions people have lost all pretense at pretense. Those who are not rich and/or famous, i.e, almost everyone, have come to terms with who they are. They don’t attend reunions to brag or compare biceps and face lifts. Well, maybe face lifts. It’s unlikely they come for the food either. I hope that at ours they come to tell embarrassing stories and make us laugh.

I still look to the future more than the past, but as psychologists will tell you, at some point late in life people look back and review where they’ve been. Maybe a 50th reunion is a good place to start.

Ann Oxrieder has lived in Bellevue for 35 years. She retired after 25 years as an administrator in the Bellevue School District and now blogs about retirement at http://stillalife.wordpress.com/