Where have 25 years gone????????

In just a few short weeks I will be attending my 25th High School Reunion. It feels like yesterday and a million years ago at the same time. I have been having lots of melancholy moments since my daughter started high school so I began the process of " remember when ?" about a year ago. I loved high school. I remember when everyone around me couldn't wait to graduate and I was thinking they were crazy. I wanted to freeze time and stay with all my friends and my boyfriend forever. I knew that it was only going to get harder from there so what was the hurry? But graduate we did and I was right it did get harder but it was also fun and exciting and lots of other things.

The best part of high school for me was that even though I had moved my Jr. year I had made an amazing group of friends. To this day when I talk to them (not often enough) it is like going back in time. The friends you make back then are forever, no matter how many miles you put between you or how much you change. Those girls and their parents helped mold me into to part of the person I am today. Not always having the most stable home life at the time I spent a lot of time at other people's houses and learned some valuable lessons along the way. I think they should have a reunion for all those parents so we can talk to them and let them know how much we appreciate their time,effort and all the food we consumed. As a parent of a high school student myself now I understand that it isn't always easy so I owe them a great deal of gratitude for putting up with me. So thanks to Mrs. Zarick, Mrs. Krienhagen, Mrs. Goen, Mrs. VonDiligen (msp?) and Mrs. Mahon. Thanks for all the gas, time, gas , food, late night talks, food, advice even though at the time you seemed really old to be giving advice, for not rolling your eyes when we professed that we were going to love (insert various names) FOREVER!, for making us come in on time (because nothing good ever happens after midnight), for driving us to all the ball games and for just being the kind of parents that made us feel loved and secure. It must have been really hard to be surrounded by people like us that knew everything. Also, thank you for not killing us when we complained about being fat. As a mid-forty year old mom I am so tired of hearing girls who wear a size four complain about being fat. My revenge is cooking really great brownies and making sure I keep in touch with them as they turn forty!

So as we all prepare to gather and celebrate , take a moment to thank the people in your life that helped you through high school. Trust me they will love hearing from you!!

Two bears and a kitty cat

On Thursday night I went out to dinner with my friend, Laurie. It was so nice to spend time just hanging out ,talking and laughing. Well as luck would have it we ended up in the logical place that two moms would end up on a night out with out their children.....the toy aisle at Target. On the end cap I spotted some stuffed animals so she and I proceeded to snuggle them and they were so soft and fuzzy. Two were brown bears with cute ribbons around their necks and one was a cute kitty holding a baby kitty wearing bunny slippers. I looked at the tag and realized that they were only 2.00 on clearance. At first I thought the kids would love them and then just like on t.v. I flashed to their rooms and decided one more ANYTHING might just cause their rooms to disconnect from the foundation of the house. Then I had an even better idea..I would take them to work and find three patients who would love to snuggle them as much as Laurie and I did.

I took them to work today and told my co-workers to come up with three patients that they thought would love to have them. We had so much fun brainstorming who we thought needed cheering up. When we finally decided on the three luck residents, I took them to their new homes. It was the best six dollars I have ever spent. Just to see the look on their faces and to watch them touch and hold the bears was priceless. One perk I hadn't thought of was how much attention the animals would bring their new owners. Every time someone , visitor or employee , walked by they stopped and spoke to the resident and admired their new "friends". This was more priceless than the bears. Sometimes in my business we forget to just stop and say hello to our residents and to ask how they are. We are so busy doing our jobs that it just gets overlooked. I was so happy for the three residents and it really warmed my heart to see my six dollars got to such a great cause.