A Week Later, and Still Processing!

One week ago at this very moment, we were deeply enthralled in conversation with classmates, some that I haven't seen in 20ish years, and if Heaven is any better, I want to go TODAY! It was a cleansing of the soul for me that I have needed desperately!! My outlook on life is so much better, my mood is so much better, and I feel that my life is so much better because I spent a weekend with these amazing people. I plan on keeping my new-found positivity through much adversity that surrounds me. I am still processing, and will continue to as the photos and photo comments are posted. We are already planning the 25th reunion and a mini-reunion in a couple of years to pull Marcus out of the brink of certain despair as he turns 40! I am having some sadness/withdrawals from the fun!! I learned this weekend that I can stay up past 11pm, and I can have a lot of fun!! (Now I must rest up!) Thanks to everyone who shared a wonderful weekend with us! It was far too short!
*** I had to add another thought: We are so blessed to have each other! As a talk incessantly about our reunion, I run across more and more people who say, "I haven't been to any of my reunions and don't plan on ever going. I didn't like those people and why would I want to see them now?" Wow!! What a sad thing!! We are missing each other so much, and there are people out there (who went to other schools) who don't care about each other and have only negative memories of high school. I only wish they could love their classmates like I do!! I miss y'all!! I am so glad that we had our reunion last weekend and not this weekend! The people of Yazoo City are in my thoughts and prayers. That is so close to home!

Some Things Do Stay The Same (20 Years Later)

**I'm going to try to summarize this past weekend the best I can. I may have to revise it often as I process everything and get over my severe case of sleep deprivation.**

September 1988 I arrived in Columbus Mississippi to the new "Mississippi School for Math and Science." We had a caravan of cars and trucks to drop my brother off at Mississippi State for his Freshman year, and continued on to drop me off in Columbus. I was scared, excited, and CLUELESS as to what I was getting myself into, but I was also determined. I wasn't running away from a bad home life or unhappy school situation. I was running to adventure and the possibility of experiencing just about anything. It amazes me still that this day even happened! Let me go back 11 years and explain how close I was to missing this opportunity. This is proof that one small decision can change your life forever. You see, back in "those days" parents had a little more flexibility in deciding when to send their children to kindergarten. I was born in November, so I would either be the oldest in my class, or the youngest. Mama enrolled me in kindergarten in 1977. When it came time to go to kindergarten Mama asked, "Shannon, do you want to go to school, or do you want to go to Jackson shopping?" Being a girl, I chose shopping, so off we went and the rest is history. I did go to kindergarten then next year, which set me up to be in the Inaugural class of MSMS!
Back to my time at MSMS: I met this wonderful guy on our first day, and he would stand by me 21 years later as my Man of Honor at my wedding. Marcus kept me sane and has continued to be a steadfast friend. Christmas break junior year I was diagnosed with a severe case of mono that was causing my liver enzymes to elevate and my spleen to be enlarge. My doctor suggested I not return to MSMS since I was so sick. Are you kidding me?? I HAD to go back! Mama came to school with me to set up my room so I wouldn't have to lift anything heavy, and I was moved to the bottom floor so I didn't have to go upstairs. I didn't miss a single day of school! I'm so glad that I fought to stay! Graduation was so exciting and difficult. I lived with these people, loved these people, and didn't want to leave these people. (I felt the same way this weekend!)
When we arrived Friday at the campus I was greeted by the same faces! I mean everyone looks the same! Oh, we may have a little more weight, or a little less hair, but all in all, not bad for 20 years! Some of our teachers look the same too. We took a tour of the campus and quickly realized that we also act the same. It was like we never left. Robert went to our small 15 year reunion in New Orleans. We had only been dating 2 months, but he felt very comfortable around my friends. It was the same this reunion. They embraced him like he went to school with us. Robert, Cass and Jason could get into trouble if they lived closer to each other. We stayed up until 4:30am Saturday morning and 5am Sunday morning. It was like we wanted to make the most of every minute! I am paying for it now. I feel smarter after spending a weekend with everyone! Just being in the same place and breathing the same air as these brilliant people makes me want to learn more. Even though everyone is brilliant, the weekend didn't become a "let me show you how much smarter I am than you" reunion. It was like we were 17 again, only with legal alcohol, spouses, and children. We have lost teachers, one classmate (Roger), and gained lots of spouses and children in 20 years. We opened the Time Capsule that we sealed at the end of junior year. Mrs Judy Morris was obviously in charge of this. She kept a lot of pictures and mementos. She and Coach Butler were missed! There were a lot of funny things and embarrassing things in the time capsule. I'm so glad we did that!
I have spent the last few days looking at pictures from the reunion, longing to be back there, laughing at the photo captions and comments, and feeling truly blessed to have such wonderful people, as Marcus put it, as my family. I feel so bad for the classmates who couldn't make it. It was an experience that has changed my attitude and outlook! I haven't stopped talking about the reunion and laughing so hard that I wheeze!!



I am having a lot of sadness about not being at the reunion, so I still need to process! I will continue to add and edit this post. Shannon

A Holy Crap Moment.

(Please don't take offense, as I realize it is Holy Week. Happy Holy week and Thanks be to God for the greatest gift to the world!)

Anyway, every so often I have a "Holy Crap" moment. Usually this happens when I hear something, and it makes me think about my age, which leads me to think about what my parents were doing when they were my age. What caused this particular moment was something I heard on the radio. They were talking about how having your parents at each of your sporting events, or how not having your parents there affected you. Honesty, I had never really thought about it. It was a given that Mama was going to be at everything. She always was. I didn't think it was an option. Daddy was at a lot of stuff too. That lead me to think about what was going on when she was 38 (which made Daddy 41). I was 11, which meant Joey was 13, and Dana was 15 (which was driving age in Mississippi when we grew up.Let's see puberty + puberty + new driver = hell) Daddy was farming through the rough years, and working at Cottonwood in Louisiana, but still made it to every dance recital, Catfish Festival and as many games as he could. He also taught us math and helped us with our math homework, which was his expertise. Mama was into every aspect of our lives. She was "Room mother" to one of our classes EVERY year. She was at every football game (pee wee, junior high and high school), every Little League, Pony League, and High school baseball game, every cheerleader competition, every dance show, and every lame "tom turkey"/pilgrim class play, and made the costumes too! When I was in junior high she was working at the bank and Daddy was working in Vicksburg full time. She still didn't miss anything, plus she ran the farm while Daddy was away working 16-20 hour days during farming and hunting season. She literally came in from the bank, stripped off her pantyhose and high heels and threw on her jeans and tennis shoes and went out into the field. (Yes, prissy Scarlet O' Meme ran the farm, got in the dirt, and did it all with style!) Their sacrifice takes my breath away. We didn't have drive-thru Wendy's or McDonald's, we had real homemade food. We went to dance seminars each summer, and went to Vicksburg to see Daddy almost every weekend. He would take me out fishing or riding every time we were down there, no matter how tired he was. I don't know how they did it. I think of how tired I am after work, and how I truly DREAD the idea of running any errands and I wonder "How DID they do it?" Mama was everywhere, and had a smile on her face, or what I could see of it poking out from behind the video camera that was the size of suitcase. Daddy would come in from the field covered with dirt and dinitro (yellow chemical) and sit down with us to teach variables. Mrs. Guy couldn't get any of us to understand how in the world you could add an "X" to a "Y", but Daddy did! They were and are an integral part of our lives academically, emotionally, and athletically (not so much athletically anymore!) They molded us and continue to do so. I feel like I just expected it as a kid and didn't appreciate it or think it was a big deal. They never acted like it was a big deal or a sacrifice, which is even more amazing. I appreciate what they did so much. They went above and beyond what parents are called to do, and for that I am forever grateful and indebted.
It is so good to have a moment like this to remember what is important, and it is quite appropriate for Holy Week too, as we think about Jesus, and God's sacrifice as a parent, and how He is with us all the time and continues to be no matter how old we get.







I am so blessed! Love, Shannon