We have one every 5 years, last one was our 45th, next year will be out 50th. I have been to everyone. I used to really enjoy the after parties but they started slowing down after about the 25th year.
I always have a great time. I often look for kids that I know didn’t have much fun in high school and try to recall something I admired about them but never told them. I have evolved a different set of friends from high school that I never associated with back then.
I had an interesting conversation with a lady at my last one. My school was racially very diverse and we all hung out together and partied together. This was a black lady that went on to become a high school teacher. She told me that since she left high school 45 years ago she has had very little interaction with white people. I live n Southern Ca and was very surprised to hear that the white teachers and black teachers sit in different areas during lunch. She said she first experienced this in college and from that point on. On the plus side she has reconnected with some of her old high school friends and they are doing things together.