MY LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD

Do you have a little corner of the world? A place where you go to gather your thoughts or forget the ones you have. To lower the blood pressure and take a moment to relax and forget the fast passing world?
I have found mine and enjoy it most every day. We recently moved to this little neighborhood that once was Navy housing. It has been renovated and many amenities have been added. It is full of history and I think even has it's own ghosts of the past here. It sits on the beach, but has very little usage this time of year.
They have put in several pagodas and shade areas and added lots of nice chairs. Perfect.
I have found this place a healing place and a place where I have healed to some degree.
It is quiet except for the surf and the planes flying over, ready to land.
The other day, like most days, I rode my bike over and found my favorite chair, giving me a perfect view of Pearl Harbor and settled in. It is usually quiet that time of day and I was very ready to unwind.
When out of the blue a large group of young teens came flying down to the beach just about 200 feet from where I was sitting. They were laughing and jumping around and having a great time.
I had no idea where they came from, as it was during school hours. Some had volleyballs, so I assumed they came to play on our sand court. At least they were not sitting at home in front of the TV or computer or playing video games, or even had music plugged into their ears. I was delighted to see them enjoying the day.
They all rolled up their pants, the ones not wearing shorts, and started playing in the surf.
They were having the best time of their life. They were so busy, I had no idea they even had a clue to the outside world.
Now in this day and age of being told that today's teens are getting harden with this world and desensitized to military matters, this group took me by total surprise.
When out of the blue one of our beautiful submarines came from around the bend and was heading out to sea. To my total surprise this whole group of about 14 young people stopped in their tracks and watch that sub leave the harbor until it was out to sea. They were quiet and totally respectful. It totally caught me off guard. They stood there in silence for several minutes. It was one of those moments, you wished you had your camera. It took my breath away.
Yeah, I would share my little corner of the world with these fine young people any day.

AS TIME GOES BY

In the past few years, our high school class has renewed old friendships with several reunions and mini reunions. My husband, being from a different school, is always amazed at how close we were and still are.
I have found these reunions so much fun and much too short. Totally enjoyable and very appreciative. I laughed until my jaws hurt and cried until my eyes are red.
My stomach is sore the next day from all the belly laughs. My feet hurt after some attempts of dancing at some of these reunions. Each and every ailment is totally worth it all.
I have gotten to reconnect with several of my past Girl Scouts, some of the most precious memories of my life, and some of my lake buddies and camping out in the front yard buddies for my yearly birthday.
This year we are trying for a long distant reunion and I hope each and every one can make it. Life goes by so fast that we should take this time for enjoyment. We have worked hard and we deserve it. Even if they can only make it for a few days, it is welcome.
I am waiting to get to sit down and enjoy a nice conversation with these important people that I didn't get to enjoy at these past reunions. Time does go by fast and it is so hard to visit with them all.
It is never to late to reconnect with those that made such a profound difference in our lives.
We all knew each others families, and have gone through some of their trials and tribulations with them. We were very lucky indeed.
So, if you are reading this and you went to another school, maybe it is time to reconnect with your classmates also. You will be so rewarded.