Welcome back to "Class Reunion: The Podcast!" This week's guest is Liz Lawson, a longtime Aurora resident who now runs a daycare in our hometown. She faced more obstacles than she let on when she was a kid, losing her mom when she was 7 and then losing her home to a tornado as a young adult. 

But her love of kids and of being a community helper were well established by the time we graduated. 

In our conversation, Liz shares what it was like losing a parent as a young person and how she navigated her career while also raising a family from a young age. 

Each week, I make a donation to a nonprofit of choice selected by the classmate featured in the show, and this week, Liz picked For the Kids, an organization in Aurora that provides clothing and other essentials to foster children in Barry, Lawrence and Stone counties. (The group is hosting a camping and floating trip for foster families on the same weekend as our reunion, so I'm particularly send a donation their way.)

If you want to show your support for this program, go to patreon.com/classreunionpodcast to sign up. Thanks to this week's featured Patrons: Kandice, Travis, Chris and Abby.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Don’t Fear the Death Card, my ancestral healing and tarot business. If all this talk about nostalgia and family histories piques your interest, come follow me @dontfearthedeathcard on Instagram to learn more.

Lastly, if you are a member of the Class of 2001, head over to Facebook to join our class group, where we are sharing information about the upcoming reunion, taking place September 24 and 25 in Aurora. Reach out if you have questions and we’d love to see you there.