Children: Brandon (34) & Chelsea (32)

Biography: How do you describe 35 years of "adult" life in a few paragraphs? The friendships and memories created while growing up in a small town are so lasting. A high school reunion reawakens my youthful thoughts and leaves me to reminisce about all of the years of my life.

After graduation I spent four years at Western Michigan University and finished with a Fine Arts Degree. Art has always been my passion... however; it is a tough to pay the bills as an artist! So, I worked primarily in store display and design for five years and then as a buyer and interior designer for six years with Ethan Allen when I moved to San Diego in 1974.

Along the way I managed to pursue my other passion... travel! After college I traveled for a winter in Europe, spent several months in Columbia, studied art in Mexico, and wandered around the USA and Canada.

Finding life in San Diego exactly what I was looking for I decided to settle down and married my husband Cary in 1980. He is a cosmetic dentist and we subsequently started a dental practice in this area, found our dream house, and had a son, Brandon, in 1982, and a daughter, Chelsea, in 1984. I worked with Cary to build our business, learning all about health care, managing staff, handling the financial aspects, and doing all of the myriad of tasks self employed people do! We have recently moved from our office of 20 years into a brand new facility.

Last year I decided to "retire" from dentistry and start my own business. I am now traveling to Europe and importing antiques, which I sell with a friend in a retail store and on Ebay. It has been a wonderful career move for me... a big learning curve... but putting my two passions together has been very rewarding.

After marrying, Cary and I continued to travel and as our children grew we began taking them with us on foreign trips. We have traveled throughout Europe, to Australia and New Zealand, Singapore and Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Galapagos Islands, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Morocco and next year to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. The experiences we have shared as a family have greatly enriched our lives!

I began pursuing my art avidly again in 1990 with classes in Botanical illustration. What great fun to be using colored pencil and paper. However, as much as I loved the pencil I realized it was a very slow medium and I have a lot of art to do in this lifetime... So, I took classes in printmaking and now have a studio with a printing press in my garage where I produce limited edition etchings. I am a member of a local printmaking organization and we have several annual shows. I also am the coordinator of a large international art show each year.

It's with much excitement I look forward to renewing old friendships and to experiencing Northern Michigan in September for our 35th high school reunion!

Update 9/9/2016:

A 50th reunion is a reminder how quickly and quietly life slips by…in the blink of an eye we are in our 60’s and grandparents, although in my mind I can still remember my cheerleading moves, my first date, and the dress I wore to the senior prom!

Life and love have kept me in San Diego since 1974. My children and grandchildren are true Californians. Our family has enjoyed the opportunities and weather California has provided.

Brandon is a TV producer in the Bay area, married with a young son.

Chelsea is a university professor in San Diego and mother to a baby daughter.

Cary and I retired in 2006 and the following year lost our home and all of our possessions in a severe fire storm. The fire gave us an opportunity to rethink our retirement. It was a huge blow, but we decided to spend the next 4 years traveling possession free. Primarily we lived in seasonal rentals and hotels. It was a fairly easy shift for us because we had always loved travel. Much of the travel has been international, but we also took a number of long road trips in the USA and Canada. Next year we will hit the 100 country mark!

After the 4 years we leased a small house by the ocean in Del Mar, a beach community just north of San Diego. We reside there today and still continue our quest to see as much of the world as possible!

Art remains a high priority and captures my time when I am home.

Looking forward to seeing everyone and celebrating our journeys through life in person!

Meg and Beau

Meg and Stella Luna

Meg with Cary and Beau at Christmas 2015

Here are some family photos: