Poinsettia

I spent some time getting to know my mother last night. She's been gone for two years... really longer if you consider the slow, fading process of dementia. But last night,  I opened a box that contains the last few items I hadn't gotten around to sorting. Looking through her high school yearbooks, I spotted her quickly in some of the group photos. As anyone who knew her can attest, she was always a doer.

But it wasn't only my own mother I got to know.  It was all those other teenagers of 1946. World War II had just ended, and every single person was somehow affected. They'd lived through ration books, blackout curtains, and the loss of loved ones. My mom lost an entire branch of cousins in Poland in 1940, which was never really discussed.

Hollywood High School Poinsettia, 1946. Right at the beginning,  before all of the cheery optimism and sendoffs was a dedication page, honoring all of the alumni who had been lost in the war.

I share their names with you today and hope that you will honor them also.