OUR REUNION WEEKEND

While we were in Chicago for our class reunion which was awesome we also drove around past our old house, special monuments and the houses we grew up in. I also told Mark that we had to try to go to the Brookfield Zoo while in town. (don't forget to click on the photos to see them better)

We of course also ate our favorites including Pizza and Italian Beef w/Sausage combo sandwiches. I was lucky enough to finally have my very favorite Barone's Pizza in Downers Grove, IL. The last time I had it was over 13 years ago and we shared this evening with my girlfriend Sherry and her husband Howard. It was a nice evening reminiscing. 

Actually it was 13th years with Sherry and Howard when I last had Barone's. I was in town attending the funeral for our best friends young son. Now since I mentioned this I will also say that we went to the cemetery to visit their sons grave which Mark hadn't seen yet and we also visited my mothers while in town.  

This was our visit of the High School we attended which is located behind the back entrance to the Brookfield Zoo. It was fun to see that the gymnasium was exactly the same and walking down the hallways was so much fun. 

That is me in front of my locker. It is a new locker but same spot. Right across the way was the water fountain which I had to have a picture of. There was a time between classes that Mark and I would pass each other there. 

We were not actually dating but there was some flirting going on. Can you believe the new water fountain they installed now has a place to fill your water bottles!!!

We ended up being able to go to the zoo for a few hours on Saturday. We spent about 3 hours walking around visiting our favorites. It was also raining on and off but thankfully it was real heavy rain.

I do have a story to share about this fountain. Sometimes things happen that you know are signs from God. I mentioned our friends who lost their son, these were our very best couple friends who we were with all the time. 

After I took that picture I walked up to look at the fountain and wouldn't know that the song "Wind Beneath my Wings" started playing and I just started bawling. 

That was the song the my friend Diane had them play at his funeral. I had sent her a music box with that song after I had returned home and that is when I put in a handkerchief and said "This is for your tears" and that is what inspired my ministry years later. 

This bear was behind glass. You can see it was raining.....

 The Polar Bear was behind glass too! 

 Some miscellaneous shots.....

 Hello....

 I just had this one put on canvas for my wall. 

 Mama cleaning her baby.....

 Group shot.....

This guy was not happy.....

 Mama and baby....

THE MOMENT

You know the moment when you can't catch your breath, you can't speak, you can't move, you are in shock and the tears start running down your face?

That recently happened and it immediately changed me!

I felt a distressing awakening..........

Distressing: causing anxiety, sorrow or pain; upsetting.

Awakening: an act or moment of becoming suddenly aware of something.

We have a 45 year class reunion in a few weeks. (I still can't believe that number!) We will be flying to Chicago to attend. I've been living in my own little pity party for a long time now.

But I have also been determined to go because I have a few friends that I want to see. I loved High School. I was a terrible student but it wasn't a bad experience for me at all!

Also the fact that we don't know what tomorrow will bring kept me bugging Mark about it for months now. He doesn't want to go. His thoughts are "Who wants to see a bunch of old people."

Going to the reunion is not easy for me. I was the size "0" girl all through High School and I've been dwelling on the fact that it's not fair that people don't know your story.

I've been struggling with my weight for 19 years now after I had been hospitalized for 8 days because they couldn't get my lungs to work right. I spent 18 years on a low dose of oral steroids which I recently shared with you and exercise with COPD is not an easy task. So I eat healthy and do the best job I can do for myself.

I didn't want to go and be judged that way because I am still me, the person I was 45 years ago! By the way, Mark and I were in the same class.  Here is a photo from what looks to be maybe our 10th Class Reunion. There we are third and fourth from the right.......

We received an email update about the weekend and a link to a board with all kinds of facts that we can look up about who is coming, what other things will be going on that weekend that we can go to if we want and then there was the one "IN MEMORY" which hit me like a ton of bricks.

We have lost 39 members from our class of 1969 at Riverside-Brookfield High School in Brookfield, IL. Many of them I knew. I was a fairly popular girl even though I was extremely shy and had no self esteem at all. I ran with the cool kids, many of them Cheerleaders and Jocks but also got along with the groups that were not so popular like the Greasers....that takes you back doesn't it?

Mark and I dated sophmore year for about 3 months and then we didn't go out again until after graduation night. I know that senior year there was a lot of flirting going on between us and we hung with the same crowd most of the time. My prom date and his prom date have both passed away....that just blows my mind!

So when I saw the list the tears just started flowing down my face for those who are gone and I realized just how blessed I am to be alive today. I am going to live each day to the fullest and thank God for blessing me with my life. I will not lay low and hide because life is precious........

Ecclesiastes 9: 7-9 (The Message) 

Seize life! Eat bread with gusto,

Drink wine with a robust heart.

Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure!

Dress festively every morning.

Don’t skimp on colors and scarves.

Relish life with the spouse you love

Each and every day of your precarious life.

Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange

For the hard work of staying alive.

Make the most of each one!

I do throwback Thursday on Facebook each week and this is the pictures I posted yesterday. It is from August 1971 and we are obviously celebrating our engagement. We got married June 24, 1972.

 Here we are last September.
You can't go back you can only move forward!

There is now a part two to this post....

WAVE OF LIGHT ALL OVER THE WORLD

WILL YOU JOIN US TONIGHT:

REMEMBERING OUR BABIES

OCTOBER 15th (link)

A DAY WE WILL NEVER FORGET 9/11

IN REMEMBRANCE OF THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES

September 11, 2001

Keeping their families in our prayers.

I remember that day so well. My father was in town staying with my aunt and uncle in Orange, CA. I had just gotten home from the airport where I had dropped my husband off for a trip he had to make. It was like 6:30 AM here in California and for some reason I turned on the TV. At that time the first building had been hit. Then when the second one was hit I called my aunts house to tell them. Then I received a call from my husband asking me if something was going on. He was sitting on the runway but they were not taking off. I of course told him what was going on and I went back to pick him up. I personally didn't know anyone in the building or anywhere else in the country who was killed or injured but I did bowl with a girl whose cousin was killed in the towers. It was a horrific day.