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| Name: |
Melissa Klint Burke |
| Spouse: |
Patrick Burke |
| Children: |
Stepdaughters: Colleen
(19), Tricia (17), as well as 3 cats, 2 fish and a bird! |
| City/State: |
Big Lake, MN |
| Email: |
[email protected] |
| Occupation: |
Part-time Nanny |
| Bio: |
It's hard to
believe that it's been 10 years already since our reunion in 1997...even
more difficult to believe is it's been 20 years since we graduated!!
Where has the time gone? What have I been up to since the 10 year
reunion?....well, looking back on just the past 3 years: I've gotten a
divorce; moved to Brooklyn
Park, MN; moved to New Hope, MN;
got married for a second time; bought our first house (yes, moved again,
this time to Big Lake); ended my nanny job of 14+ years (the girls are
15 & 12 now), and started a new nanny job in
St. Cloud, (I now nanny for a 1
year old baby girl). Our new home keeps me pretty busy ~ our latest
projects have been landscaping the yard (which enables us to be
creative, as well as spend time together and be outdoors). After living
in the Minneapolis area for 16 years, I was glad for our move to Big
Lake, and getting back out in the country again. The area reminds me so
much of Alex, which I really do miss. I do get up there from time to
time to visit some of my close friends who still live there, and am
amazed at how much it's changed! In my spare time I enjoy making my own
greeting cards, going for walks, and doing needlepoint projects. Within
the past few years, I've gotten more help with my hearing disability
(digital hearing aids and learning sign language ~ I'm also still doing
that lip reading that got me through school!). I think one of the
biggest obstacles I've faced has been that for so many years, I avoided
talking about my hearing loss, and just crawled into a shell. I think
many people thought I was "slow", or maybe a "snob", or just really shy
~ trying to break out of that shell has been a difficult process, but
it's one that I am finding myself succeeding at it. My husband & I do
some occasional volunteer work thru HSDM (Hearing and service dogs of
Minnesota), generally working the "pet check-in" at the Renaissance
Festival. We are considering getting a service dog of our own within a
year or so to help us as well. It's absolutely incredible what these
dogs can do for people! All in all life is treating me pretty well ~ I
am thankful for and look forward to each & every day and what I can do
with it. I've learned some valuable lessons the past few years, and one
of the biggest is to not take advantage of time with friends & family,
because once it's gone, you cant get it back. The listed email is my
personal home email, please feel free to drop me a note ~ I'm looking
forward to seeing everyone at the reunion next month :) |
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Memories: |
Getting more
involved in some of the extra curricular activities (Friends Beyond
Borders), Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Prom & Graduation committee)
and wishing I had done that a lot sooner because it enabled me to get to
know more people and make new friends. FBB produced some great
friendships ~ Louise & I became good friends, I miss her a lot and I'm
hoping we will be able to locate her for one of our reunions. I still
laugh about Liz & I helping decorate for Senior prom and afterwards Jens
and one of the other foreign exchange students asked us for a ride home
but could not recall the address of where they were staying, now that
made for an interesting ride! Mary sneaking Donna & I out for lunch at
Taco John's occasionally while she was in Office Ed ~ Our birthday
parties Senior year ~ Stock car races all summer and following a certain
driver & pit crew afterwards back to their auto body (then discovering
part of the pit crew was following us!!!) ~ Prom '87 ~ Graduation and
the lock-in party afterwards ~ Not to mention all the fun I had in
having a close knit group of supportive, caring friends ~ Darla, Donna,
Liz, Mary, Rachelle...(with whom I still keep in touch with after all
these years ~ all six of us were together for my wedding in 2005, and
each of our weddings prior to that!!) |
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