Laurie Messer:
CLASS OF 1983
Columbia High SchoolClass of 1983
Troutdale, OR
Wilkes Elementary SchoolClass of 1977
Portland, OR
Prescott Elementary SchoolClass of 1973
Portland, OR
Laurie's Story
Hmmmm.... what's my story...
My story.
My story is one that is constantly evolving and changing... on a daily basis, really. I am a contracts analyst by day... or, I suppose by morning... and a legal assistant by afternoon. I don't have any super powers to speak of, but I have been called "incredibly organized". I am one of the lucky people who LOVES what they do every day. Yahoo for me!!!
I have a daughter who is 19. She is an incredible young woman. I have a dog - a golden retreiver - who doesn't realize he is a dog. People may say that both are spoiled... but I prefer to call it well loved as neither of them is rotten.
This is my favorite poem and sums me up pretty well, although it was written by someone else.
The Invitation
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint anothe...Expand for more
r to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and
bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
~Oriah~
So, now you have some more insight into who I am today. One thing that hasn't changed since high school is that with me, you will always know where you stand. You may not like it, but at least you will know.
I have not maintained contact with a lot of people from high school for no other reason than the fact that life happens. Theirs and mine. So, if I inadvertantly hurt feelings, I am sincerely sorry. It was not intentional. Unless of course I told you that I never wanted to speak to you again or something like that, then, that probably was intentional. I suppose only you really know.
Okay, well, I think this is plenty of reading for now.
Take care.
Register for Free to view all details!
Reunions
Photos