Dear Classmates...

Don asked for an update of the last 40 years, but having seen many of you at our 25th, I'll focus on the last 15 years. My husband Gene and I are still living in Doylestown, Pa., in the same house we moved into when I was pregnant with our first daughter, Kathryn. At that time, we thought it was our starter home - two additions and a kitchen renovation later I think we'll be retiring here. Not quite yet though. Gene did retire from full-time work six years ago, but continues to work about 20 hours a week for a local company.

I've been 32 years as a School Psychologist at South Brunswick High School in central New Jersey. There are mornings when that alarm goes off at 5:00 am and I think retirement would be nice, but for the most part I still find the work interesting and rewarding and I have many good friends among my colleagues whom I would certainly miss. Not to mention that we still have a bit of college and graduate school debt to pay off. Kathryn just finished her Masters in Teaching and is interviewing for jobs in elementary education.

She's living just outside Philadelphia with her soon to be fiancé, John. Meredith is working as an instructional aide in a middle school and taking courses towards her Masters in special education. Much to her dismay, she is still living at home, but she's trying to avoid some of the debt her sister incurred by moving out before she could really afford to! For those of you who remember the rest of the Hutchinson clan, my father died in April 2003 and my mom just eleven months later. Anne is also living in Doylestown, Whitney and his wife in Georgia, Peter and his wife and four daughters in Massachusetts and Caren and her husband in Maine. Despite the distances between us, we remain very close and manage family get-togethers several times a year. In my daily work with adolescents, I often think back to my own high school years and realize how fortunate I was to grow up in Mountain Lakes. At this time of year, many of my students are struggling with the idea of graduating and leaving their friends. They are always amazed and reassured when I tell them that I am still best friends with two of my high school girlfriends and even with my high school sweetheart and his wife!! Looking forward to seeing all of you July 30th.