High School Reunion

On July 13 I will be attending my 57th high school Reunion.
These are probably the only people other than my children who
remember my dark brown hair.

I graduated from Forest (Miss.) High School in May, 1951.
I was the youngest in my class. I had my 17th birthday
in July after graduation. There were 33 students in the
graduating class of 1951 Approximately half of them have
died. Each year we seem to lose 1 or 2 more. This year,
however, there were no deaths. There has been, however,
a rash of cancer cases in both my classmates and their
spouses.

I have my tickets and am ready to fly. I am so excited
that I will get to visit with some dear friends for a
Saturday afternoon. With some it seems that we pick up
right where we left off. It is always wonderful to visit
with people whom we once were so close.

My son and his family are moving from Mississippi
to Texas in July, and that means I'll be spending
my money on airline tickets to Dallas instead of
Mississippi. It breaks my heart that I will probably
see less of Chelsea than I did when she was in Jackson.
I already feel the loss.

Surprise Birthday

My grandson Samuel has a birthday on Monday. He will be
22. Today, Saturday, we were supposed to have a surprise
party at 1:00 p.m. at Rock Springs. Yesterday the county
closed the park because of a high bacteria count.

The picnic was changed to Wekiva Springs State Park.
When my husband and I arrived, the dark clouds were
rumbling menacingly and there were no tables or grills
available. We waited for some time and one became
vacant and we grabbed it.

By this time many swimmers were getting out of the
water, the thunder and lightning frightening all
of us.

We decided to break everything down and take the
picnic back to Vicki's. When we returned home,
the storm had rained out and we had a very nice
meal of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips. etc.

Sam's comment: "This is the most stressful birthday
I've ever had."

Marla had a wonderful day. Her friend Hannah spent
the night last night and went with them and helped
with Marla today.

Marla swam, played and enjoyed every minute today.
When she finally got to eat, she had 2 hot dogs, 1
hamburger, chips, etc. That little girl can eat
more than I can. She is such a joy.

Reading Books

For over a quarter of a century I was a high school
English teacher and the thing I wanted most to teach
my students was a love and respect for books and
what they contained.

A good book can take the reader on fantastic journeys
to the moon and back;

Life's high Points

This past week my son and his family visited us. They
have a 2 1/2 year old little girl, Chelsea, who is very
precocious. They went to Howie in the Hills to a wedding
Friday and Saturday. Sunday was the first opportunity
the entire family had to get together.

I loved all the hustle and bustle and just having them
all in my home. It reminded me of Christmases when
we were all together.

That evening we all gathered around the big table in the
dining room. I asked my husband Dan to say the blessing.
He said that he would; we all held hands; the blessing
was over. My son said, "You said Pappaw's blessing."
My grandson Daniel mentioned another prayer. Then Chelsea,
the two year old, said "You could say this blessing."
She held her hands out; we all held hands; she said,
"God is great; God is good. Let us thank Him for our
food. By his hands we all are fed. Thank you, God,
for daily bread. Amen."

Everyone applauded her and she was very pleased with
herself. Her father and mother were so pleased they
almost cried. I can still hear that much older
sounding little voice reciting the prayer that
as a family they say together every night. Nothing
could have thrilled me any more.

I will share one more Chelsea story. The realtor was
showing the house, and Chelsea and her parents were
at a park while it was going on. I think they may
have had a picnic there. Anyway, Chelsea took some-
thing out of a wrapper and threw the wrapping away.
Her Dad said, "Chelsea, don't be a litter bug; pick
that up and put it in the trash can." She looked
at him and said, "I'm not a little bug!" He explained,
"I didn't call you a litter bug." He then explained
what a litter bug was. She looked at him and said,
I am not a little bug!"

The whole week was wonderful. Marla, six, and
Chelsea had a wonderful time together. On the last
night they were here, Marla asked for a sleepover
so that they could spend as much time as possible
together.

Now, I'll tell you about a little girl, Marla, who
sleeps all over the bed, at both ends and anywhere
in between. She lives down the street and she
is Queen here. I just wish they could both be down
the street. Instead, Chelsea and family will be
moving to Texas in July. Now we will have to fly
when we have a visit.

There have been some really wonderful days in my
life--my wedding day over 53 years ago; the births
of both my children; the births of all my grand-
children; my children's weddings. I could go on
and on, but I think it is evident that my family
is very important to me, and I love them with
all my heart.

More later.