Once upon a time...

in a small Midwestern town a group of 20 children began school together in a one room school house. Okay fine, it wasn't a one room school house - it was a large two story brick building with a classroom for every grade and a boys entrance engraved in stone above one doorway which I never understood because the boys never used that entrance exclusively - we had equal opportunity doorways.





Anyway, sometime in the 70's this group of children began their school journey together as the "catholic school kids" (seriously, that is how we were referred to and are still referred to in mixed company - you know by the public school kids). We were 12 girls and 8 boys and for eight years those numbers nary wavered. We were a close group. Of course the numbers were uneven and even more so for me since of those 8 boys TWO of them were my cousins - the cutest boys (shout-out to Bryan and Tom) in the class and we were related. Where is the fairness in that? Let's just say I was very thankful for Jr. High when we were allowed to socialize with the public school kids and attend their Jr. high dances (finally we were star-bellied sneetches :-))

Recently one of the members of this class (no it was not me) decided that it would be a good thing to have a St. Joe's Class of 19__ Class Reunion. Phone calls were made (and inadvertently ignored by me). Invitations were sent (and inadvertently ignored by me). But no emails were sent. Let me give you a hint - if you really want to get in touch with me send an email. There is no telling what might happen to phone messages or mail in my house - I've got kids. Anyway, this lack of inadvertently ignoring on my behalf resulted in people actually searching for ME! Me who is really pretty findable. I'm thinking their investigative skills were not the greatest :-) Anyway they had to go through Roxann which is laughable because Roxann is a little bit more elusive than I am (I mean seriously, the girl DOES NOT even have an email account) and yet I am the one they couldn't locate. It still makes me laugh. SOOO Rox got the message and was very quick to call me (she has my cell phone number - that is the other sure way to contact me) and inform me that I needed to start responding to these people and that I might as well clear my calendar for the 20th because not only are we attending the reunion but we will be spending the night at her parent's house just like we would have done all those years ago. I guess she is thinking we need to relive the entire experience. So on the 20th I will be packing a small bag and heading to my hometown with Rox. I'm starting to get excited about the whole thing. Maybe we'll go tour the school. The last time I was there it still smelled the same - the whole school, it had it's own smell, especially the lunch room. I have so many memories of the years spent in that school (being sent home because my skirt was too short, square dancing in gym class, the Pilgrims and Indians annual Thanksgiving basketball game when I was a cheerleader, singing "Brandy you're a fine girl" with our girl group to the Mother Superior because her dog was named Brandy. OMG it is making me laugh). I'm thinking this could be a lot of fun.

Oh and upon graduation from 8th grade we moved to the Public High School (no private HS in our little town) and mixed and mingled with the real movers and shakers of the world - the public school kids. Believe me after the lectures from the nuns we were very surprised to learn that they weren't all on drugs or pregnant :-) And THAT graduating class - it was a little over 100 students and 20 of us - we were the CATHOLIC SCHOOL KIDS :-)