Though I have a hard time believing it myself, I graduated from high school 40 years ago! Because my family left Vancouver just before my final year, however, I didn’t have the opportunity to graduate with my classmates and I’ve never attended a class reunion. The past few days have been a wonderful mini reunion though.

Janis and I were best friends through our years at Argyle Secondary School and kept in touch for quite awhile afterward. Motherhood and the busyness of life took precedent over letter writing, however, and we eventually lost contact with one another. We reconnected a couple of times and last saw one another 17 years ago but once again, we lost touch with each other. Then came Facebook! We found one another again a couple of years ago while I was living in Japan and began reading one another’s blogs and catching up.

Richard and I spent the past few days visiting Janis at her home in Clearfield, Utah. It was a wonderful time of sharing memories and getting to know many of her seven children and fourteen grandchildren. How amazing it was for her and I to find that we could simply pick up our friendship where we left off so many years ago!

Clearfield celebrated the 4th of July on Saturday. On Friday evening, we went with Janis to stake out a spot for the following day’s parade by laying out quilts on the sidewalk. A local tradition, many others had done the same thing leaving blankets or lawn chairs to hold their places! We started the following day at a pancake breakfast put on by the local Boy Scouts and then went to watch the parade. Sure enough, our quilts were exactly where we’d left them! Afterward, we packed a picnic lunch and went with Janis to tour Antelope Island, the largest of 10 islands in Great Salt Lake. A fairly barren place, it is connected to the mainland by a causeway and is now a state park and home to antelope and buffalo. We especially enjoyed touring Fielding Barr Ranch which was a working ranch from 1848 to 1981. Later, several of Janis’ children and grandchildren joined us for a barbeque supper before we all went to watch the community fireworks display which was quite spectacular.

Sunday was a quieter day with church and lots of visiting as well as more fireworks in the evening with Janis’ daughter, Emma, and her family.

With Janis as our guide, we spent most of yesterday touring 30 acre Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. We learned a lot about the history and the beliefs of the Mormon people who first settled the valley in 1847 after fleeing persecution in other parts of the nation. Most of the family gathered for another barbeque last evening and it was then that I had opportunity to spend a little while with my two namesakes, Janis’ daughter Rebekah Elaine and Bekah’s daughter, 10 year old Hailey Elaine!

Saying good bye was difficult but Janis and I have vowed to keep in touch and not to let another 17 years go by before we see one another again!