And now it's been 10 years and I'm still wondering who to be

Got an email from my dear friend Becky today. She writes:

"In other terribly depressing news, I got THE CALL last night. Yep, the one I've been dreading. The 10th HIGH SCHOOL REUNION is upon me."

Having long ago located my 10th high school reunion web page online (www.franklincountyhs1996.com), I was not nearly as shocked as poor Becky at this unavoidable reminder of acne, band camp, and that painful rejection by the cheerleading squad that $10000 in therapy never managed to erase from your delicate psyche. In all honesty, I'm actually looking forward to my reunion. In eager anticipation, I've already made contact with several of my old classmates, exchanged photos and caught up on missed moments in their lives. I find it truly enjoyable, despite the fact that - as Ben Folds Five so brilliantly put it - "now it's been 10 years and I'm still wondering who to be."

This ability on my part to look beyond the directionless wanderings of my life to this point has a lot to do with the indisputable point that - on paper at least - my life looks pretty damn amazing if I'm selective with the facts I relay. Case in point, "I've been happily married for four years to a man I adore; I've been living in Germany for the past two years and have travelled extensively throughout Europe during that period to countries including the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Italy, Swtizerland, France and Belgium; I recently completed my Master's degree with the University of Heidelberg and hope to begin my PhD in the fall.

Question: Who wouldn't want a life like that?

Answer: Me.

Because here are the facts that I left out: The man I'm so happily married to is in a war zone on another continent and has been for the past six months. I won't see him again until October. I am so sick of travelling and feeling like a tourist in my own home that I could scream. And my Master's degree is in American Studies, a discipline which (forgive me, my HCA friends) I fear makes me all but unemployable. If one more person says to me, on hearing the subject of my degree, "So, whaddya wanna do with that - teach?" I swear to God I will murder them with my bare hands.

When it comes to my 10 year reunion, however, I think I can leave a few facts out when describing my life these days. I think I'm entitled. And I don't think anyone would blame me if I secretly wished that that girl on the cheerleading squad was now REALLY fat. I mean like Orca fat. That would be a nice bonus.