My favorite memory of our family reunions might not be a surprise to some of you. It includes Chelsea’s feet, Ariel’s arms, Shae’s body and my head. That’s right it was our midgets in the morning skit at the Lake Tahoe reunion. We had not anticipated this skit would be such a hit. But, as you all know, the cool CATS live for the talent show.
Rehearsals began about a month before the reunion. We would grab our boom box and Chelsea would take the lead with the choreography, given her dance background. Shae would follow close behind (and a few beats behind) copying Chelsea’s every move. Once we got a basic idea of what our dance would be like, we would move onto the next one, all in all totaling about eight dances. You didn’t really think we would just do one, did you??
Then, about a week before the reunion, we would plan our matching outfits. That year, we were all about the coordinating capri and tank top outfits from Old Navy, complete with colored sunglasses and slicked back ponytails. I’m pretty sure we looked fabulous. But don’t worry, we didn’t really think we were that cool. It was only when Bob Staab gave us the name cool CATS that our amazingly entertaining dances may have went to our heads.
And so the cool CATS entered stage left for the grand finale. After several dances, outfit changes, laughs and groans from the audience, we geared up for our skit, meaning we all stuffed ourselves into a large t-shirt so you could only see my head, Ariel’s arms and Chelsea’s feet. It was a hit! Terry was peeing her pants (literally) and Rocco couldn’t stop laughing. We had a blast making everyone laugh, and decided that morphing four people into a midget was a far better talent than gallivanting around and calling it a dance.
Reflecting on the many reunions we’ve been to as the cool CATS makes me realize how much we have grown. All four of us have truly blossomed. Shae is no longer “Shy Shae” anymore, and is actually the life of the party with her hilarious personality. Chelsea still has her carefree spirit that reminds us all not to take life too seriously, and has grown into a beautifully smart role model and sister. Ariel is thriving in college with killer grades, sorority sisters and several jobs, and is now taller than me. And there’s me, working in the corporate world in my dream job and soaking up my 20s like there’s no tomorrow.
I have come to realize that we will always be the cool CATS, but as we grow up, we each mature into our own beautiful person. Now, you won’t see us in matching outfits, or spelling our initials into one word, instead you’ll see four unique personalities, four different outfits, and countless memories of the Raatz Reunion talent show.
Looking forward to Minnesota this year, see you all very soon.
Love,
Tatum Owen
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