Throwback Monday

Today I am grateful for my husband Darcy and the good sermon he gave yesterday in his role as deacon at our church. I am also grateful that our grandson Leo knows us.

I am bucking the social media trend a bit here, but as far as I know I won't get in trouble for it.
How about an old photo for a Throwback Monday instead of a Thursday?

This photo was posted on Facebook by a classmate of mine the other day (not a Thursday either):

Wow! What a good-looking bunch of eager learners. I believe this is our 3rd grade picture, but both my 1st grade and 3rd grade teachers are in it. Other classmates jumped in and, I believe, correctly identified all of us. I wouldn't have been able to do that on my own, though I would have gotten most of them right.

I am one of the several with our mouths open . . . "Cheese!" perhaps? You will find me next to my third grade teacher Mrs. Becker, on the opposite end of the back row from my friend Brenda and my first grade teacher Mrs. Andera.

Though I went on to choose a career in education, I was not a fan of school in my early years. Mrs. Becker and my 3rd grade year helped turn things around for me though. (Mrs. Becker-who would have thought all these years later that we would be friends on something called Facebook?)

I marvel at how quickly time has passed and at how this group grew up. We have gone on to many accomplishments and have had our own third graders and then some.

Sadly, two of my classmates in this picture, Chris and Roger, never got the chance to be parents or grandparents. They both died in car accidents before our 5-year reunion.

On this Throwback Monday, let's throw out some gratitude for the gift of years, and the greatest gift of all-today.