I have been cleaning out and organizing my stuff for an upcoming move (to the OBX!!) and hit the JACKPOT for old Chanco letters, smoke signals etc etc...  Even the whole "script" (?) for Indian night!  Needless to say, I had to shed a few "happy tears" as I went through it all, but it certainly got me even MORE excited to see everyone at the reunion!

Love & miss you all!

Emma

I certainly didn't drop any cookies in the trash, and I don't write as well as either Tater or Helen, but here are my thoughts tonight.

Someone far wiser than I once said, "What matters about one's life lies in the hypen." The hypen is the dash between the day we are born and the day we die on a tombstone, and what matters is what we do with that time. Does it matter that we die with millions of dollars in the bank? (I hope not because I won't.) Does it matter that we never missed a day of work to spend time with family and friends?

When I think back over the portion of life I've lived, I always think about the lives I've touched and those who have touched me. My biggest heros are the people I met who made a difference in my life. A lot of you fit that category (too many to name here). Because you've touched me, I am who I am today. And because of who I am today, I am influencing and touching many more people. It's like a ripple effect in a pond.

I have been teaching Emergency Medical Technician classes for the last 3 years, and each semester I find that I become attached to some of my students. I take a personal interest in their lives and successes, and I take pride in their accomplishments. I still stay in touch with many of them as friends or run with them at the rescue squad. Last fall, I had the great opportunity to help teach a First Responder class for the Dept of Justice (lawyers and clerks and probation officers). Yesterday I got to see a couple of them again and saw in their eyes what I always felt when I saw old counselors and friends from Chanco. Sure, I thought all their flattery about being a wonderful instructor was great, but there's something else. Hope. Confidence to dream a little bigger. A "thanks" for helping them accomplish something.

Think about all those kids we saw each summer. In one or two weeks, we may have changed their lives and we may never know about it. We've probably all heard the story about the soldier who is killed fighting a war, and in his wallet is a letter from an old teacher with encouraging words. That teacher never knew her words were what drove the soldier to make something out of his life. I think we've done tremendous great works, and the legacy we've left is proof of that.

I'm going back to Chanco in a month to help with Happening, and I hope to be able to participate in May with Grunt week and help with Sr. High this summer. Part of that is selfish- I love it there, with you guys, and I feed off the spirit and the energy. The other part of that is I feel closer to God with the crickets chirping, the singing and laughing, the smell of a campfire, the feel of the wind in my sail and the mosqito bites on my, well, um, you know.

I hope you will join me, to encourage and support Happening and the summer camp programs. We may not get letters about how we've changed people's lives, and we may not feel support from the Diocese, but I'm living proof that we do good works and that is worth taking time off from work, spending a few dollars, and reaping the benefits for years to come.

And my 5 year old son already yells "AMEN" at the end of the Lord's Prayer at night. If only he wouldn't do it in church! The Spirit is in us, we just need to share it. It only takes a spark...

Mary Peyton