By Barb Edler 7 July 2026

The end of June and the beginning of July have been filled with joy. First, my birthday celebration. What, I had a birthday? Right, nothing happened. Typical. Then my class reunion. Yes, that was interesting.

Friday evening, the day after my nonexistent birthday because nothing happened and because I’m never going to grow any older, I met one of my best friends from high school. We joined other former classmates at a bar in Mairon, Iowa.

One of my former classmates came up and asked if I remembered who he was. I asked him for his first name and when he said Ken, I immediately knew who he was. We went to the same church. Oh, those were the days. I also visited with several other people. It was delightful to realize that many of us had similar interests and were all at various stages of retirement.

Saturday morning, we met outside our high school and had the 3-hour tour. Oh my, by the time it ended I remembered what it was like to be a high school student ready to fly out the door. Our tour guide was a former teacher and he loved to talk. He shared a lot! Like a lot!

Saturday night we met at the Marion Country Club for drinks and dinner and although this was fine, I wasn’t able to stay long enough for the group photo because my family was coming from Colorado.

We had a marvelous week celebrating my grandson’s 3rd birthday, visiting the St. Louis Aquarium, City Museum, and the Arch. The only problem was the extreme heat and moving from heat to air-conditioned places that always seem too cool for me anymore.

The week ended with food and fireworks and lots of family photos. Now, I need to get busy and write a poem for a postcard. Hope anyone reading my blog today is enjoying life and making the most out of July.