Laurel Reunion

I grew up in a fabulous ward. We moved in when I was five and for the most part of the past twenty years I've lived there. I know everyone, and they know me. I know everyone's kids, and their careers. And I grew up with an absolutely fabulous group of girls - I feel lucky to have such happy memories with the girls that I spent all those years with.

Sometime last year I realized that it had been a number of years since I've had any contact with some of them - as long as 5-7 years for a few. Because becoming fixated on things is something I excel at, I got the idea to put together a reunion with the girls and wouldn't let it rest. I did wait some months to take it up (poor TJ has been begging in his prayers for me not to take up any new stressful things...) but I finally started what ended up being a six-week adventure to make contact with 28 girls that were within 4 years of my age. Two days before the reunion was scheduled, I did it.

Turns out I belong to a mighty impressive group of girls. I put together a silly little "Guess Who?" game for everyone to do while chatting. We live across the nation, from New York to Oregon, doing everything from running spas to facilitating adoptions. We have an event planner and an insurance agent, a prosthetic rep and a business owner. A number of us are college graduates, from colleges around the state, including USU, UVU, the U of U, BYU and CEU. One of us is in Pharmacy school, another is a tree farmer's wife. The group has seen many countries around the world, from China and Mexico to Italy and Spain. A number are married, and several have children. Many are single, and some are dating. We have four girls that have gone through divorces, one who's had a daughter pass away, and a few who struggle with infertility. Each has gone their own way - all have their own success and triumphs, as well as their struggles and failures. But I feel confident saying that each of us appreciates the strong roots that we have, and in every instance that I'm aware of, we have all stayed strong with our testimonies and our faith - and there is not a feeling in the world that compares to that.