Classic Class Notes

I went to an all-women’s college, and my classmates are all full of energy and gumption. Our alma mater is a place where young women with agile minds explore what engages them intellectually and become the news-makers and world-shakers of tomorrow. No, seriously. My fellow alums are intense, self-directed, ferociously smart and funny women.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I receive my alumnae magazine on a quarterly basis, and I read the “Class Notes” section with great interest. I don’t only read the notes for my own graduating class, because it fascinates me to see what other women of different ages and stages are doing with their lives. Usually, class notes go something like this: “Hannah Smythe’s acclaimed one-woman show has been extended until August 31, 2006. After winning an Obie Award and being featured in Dramaturgica Magazine, Hannah says she is overwhelmed and gratified by the response to her performance…” or “Gillian von Schmidzel writes in from Guadeloupe, where she has been pioneering radical advances in pediatric heart surgery. She reports that her eight-year-old twins are whining about being back in school after a six-week family backpacking trip in Croatia…” or “Valentina Morales has opened a bed-and-breakfast in Vermont while working on her PhD in Economics and raising her three children (Zoe, 5, Chloe, 4, and Ned, 2).”

But I was recently reading my alumnae magazine, and in a class that is not my year, read what has to be the Best Entry Ever. Excerpt below:

[Discussion of attaining doctorate degree, then:] Meanwhile, I got ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church a year ago and am serving part time at a local [Big City] parish as well. I embarked on a gender transition about four years ago and took some extra time in both of my vocational tracks at that point…[Other Classmate and I] just celebrated our 13th anniversary…which was kind of confusing because now we have another anniversary: we got married this past October! What can I say: I’m grateful that [All-Women’s College] helped me become the man I am.

Who can top that? Certainly not me. My life seems rather beige in comparison.

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In other news, I was saying something to Will the other day about my new boss and how cool and understanding she is, and he said, “That’s because you’re the bomb!” Viva immediately and furiously said, “NO! I’M the bomb!”

And since she really, truly is: Can’t argue with that.