Turns out you CAN go home again

So I'm a reunion crasher. Last weekend, I attended Aberdeen Central's Class of '73 40th reunion.

As I mentioned earlier, I went to school with this class grades 1-8, and then switched to the Catholic high school. There is something about being around people who knew you way back when. Man from U.N.C.L.E. fan club? Check. Candy-stripers at St. Luke's? Building forts under the dining room table? Tree house? All those things. With few exceptions (hi Jane!), in high school we didn't spend much time at each other's houses. I think the reason I felt so close to my friends from w-a-y back is that we spent so much time with each other without the distractions of jobs, boys, sporting events, cars, and since it was South Dakota in the early 70's, 3.2 bars. Kid days back then were being outside from after breakfast till dark, only going inside for lunch and dinner. We biked all over town (Southside Pool!), and when we got too cool for biking, we walked downtown. Anyway, it just did my heart good to reminisce. 

I have known these girls since I was SIX!

Here are some photos of my trip down memory lane:

The first house we lived in when we moved to town in 1961. By the time we moved, we had 6 kids in the fam

Our second house. We moved here the summer before 9th grade, and there was yet another sib added to the family

My high school - less than a block away from where we lived. Convenient!

Where almost every teenager worked in high school. Or college. As you can imagine with those demographics, more than a few hook-ups happened here.

A Kessler's specialty: basically raw ground meat with onions and spices. I remember it being delicious on Club crackers, but I'm not sure I'd eat it now.

If you were raised Catholic, you know just how much time you spent in church. (I remember growing up and going to 8:30 Mass in the middle of winter. In northern South Dakota. In a miniskirt. With vinyl car seats). But I also remember thinking that Sacred Heart was the most beautiful church, and while I don't darken the doors of too many churches these days unless it's to attend a wedding, in my memory, my childhood church is still the prettiest. I asked Genola if she'd mind if we stopped by, and it is every bit as lovely in real life as in my mind:

Look at that sky! These are just iPhone photos, so imagine how beautiful it would be with a real camera.

Confessional. Shivers! Really - what sins can a 7-year-old have?

Back to real life after the sanctity of Sacred Heart. Oh yeah:

The theme of the weekend. Oh hell, of life in general:

We did our best to comply!

On a totally different note, the half-marathon is in two more weeks. Only seven miles tomorrow!

TTFN