Thirty years ago a group of us graduated from a small town school in NE Oregon. There were 38, 39 or 40 0f us, the actual number has been debated every time we get together. As with all classes across America, some of us were there from the “get-go”, others joined along the way, but each and every one had an impact on me in one way or another.

I’m a pretty positive person. It takes a lot to bring me down and even less to give me a high. During our get-together I mentioned that I thought one of my classmates husbands thinks I’ve had too much to drink at our annual Elgin Stampede each year. I just explained that is just me and I am just high on Stampede. The amount of friends gathered in one place is amazing and makes me feel as if I am on cloud 9 all weekend long.

Many of us attended our reunion this year. Far more came from miles away while only a few came from the town we grew up in, a phenomenon I have yet to understand.

As I visited with these adult versions of the kids I went to school with I noticed a common theme; everyone seemed to be really enjoying themselves. No one seemed to be judging anyone, or wondering what they were thinking behind the smiles, or thinking about the quickest way to leave the bbq. People were happy to relive the memories that were made 30 and 40 years prior.

The quiet ones were still a bit quiet, and the loud ‘one’ was still the loud ‘one’. LOL.

These people, from the time I was 6 years old, taught me how to cry, how to laugh, how to lean on someone, how to run from someone, how to dodge a dodgeball, how to be mean and spiteful, how to be loving, how to be forgiving, how to be jealous, how to be hurt, how to grieve, how to forgive and how to live. Without their guidance through life I would not be the person that I have become and I will be forever grateful.