Great Lakes & Internships V

Subj: So, where have you been? (my family writes) Date: 7/22/2003

I finished my CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) last week, and I now have an attractively framed certificate for completion of one Unit of CPE. My final evaluation was a bear to write (8 pages) yet advantageous.  My classmates and I partied at the director’s house and said our farewells, then partied at Loyola University for Neal who graduated from the Institute of Pastoral Studies with a Masters in Divinity, and next week we’ll party at the Lutheran School of Theology for Joan who is well-suited to be ordained a priest.  

Last night at the women’s support group meeting, we celebrated with a cake as my farewell.  Many hugs were given as well as promises to keep in touch.  I will continue meeting with them for prayer breakfasts and support groups, and participate in the rest of the Prayer Walks. I hope to keep in contact with many of the others.  Now it all depends on if they get money to hire me in July; otherwise, I will volunteer when I can.

Today I turned in my other final evaluation (Reflection for Supervision) for the Spiritual Direction Internship.  We have two more classes, and I have two supervision sessions left, but the heavy stuff is done.

I can now relax and catch my breath … and start planning my five weeks of travel.  I leave May 17 for Rochester, Minnesota;  I have my triptik from AAA; and I am getting excited.  Sister LaVern and I hope to finalize our plans for California this week: May 31 – June 11 are the dates.  And I will reach Kentucky on June 16 and stay till the 29th.

Love and miss you all, especially those little ones … give them hugs and kisses from Grandma!

 We walk around our neighborhood in faith and silent prayer for…

• our children who are influenced or threatened by gangs or who are members of gangs…
• our sisters who are bound to the chains of prostitution…
• our brothers and sisters who are bound by drugs, dealings, addictions and violence…
• our family members who are victims and perpetrators of domestic violence…
• our children who are subject to abuse…
• the lack of affordable housing.

We pray for elimination of these problems and for a safe and peaceful environment in which to live.

Great Lakes & Internships IV

Subj: Vigil for Peace Date: 10/22/2002

I experience my first demonstration in front of Chicago’s Federal Building.  The five of us house mates are compelled to pray regularly and publicly for an elimination of war, most especially the current threat on Iraq. We discover that each Tuesday from 8-9 AM the 8th Day Center for Justice sponsors a silent vigil for peace.   

Sister Mike takes the orange line from Midway Airport to downtown, and I the green line (which is closer to my Tuesday class), and we arrive almost at the same time.  The posters materialize from 8th Day and we each pick one to hold.  I choose one that reads PEACE in English and other languages; Mike chooses JUSTICE is not JUST US.  We are among a dozen or so people who stand for an hour in the wind.   A few pedestrians stop and thank us, some people wave from their cars, others strain to read our signs. 

A demonstration on Saturday will be held in Washington, DC, and 8th Day is sponsoring a corresponding one in downtown Chicago.  Buses are leaving Friday night for Washington and there will be a rally sending them forth.  I am not able to attend due to our women’s Prayer Breakfast on Saturday.

The thought just occurs to me that during similar protesting days for Vietnam, I was busy raising my three children. The thought of the ’60’s entered my mind as I stood in downtown Chicago holding my sign.  However, I didn’t give myself the excuse of raising my family, … I actually wasn’t into politics at that time of my life. It has taken me this long, plus all my life experiences, to have the courage to follow my convictions in a public way, and I give this community the most credit for that influence. 

Chicago’s 8th Day Center for Justice

Sisters ‘have carried the cross’

Six religious congregations founded the 8th Day Center for Justice. Each congregation promised to provide a staff member for the center, which takes its name from the Augustinian idea of an eighth day that followed the seven days of creation, as well as financial support.

Great Lakes & Internships III

Let me first step back to share my history.

My roots sprouted in the International land of Northern Ohio and flourished through the next sixteen years. Cleveland was alive with ethnic neighborhoods and each set of my grandparents originated from European countries, i.e., Italy, Slovenia, Bohemia. The Cleveland Cultural Gardens are a collection of public gardens located in Rockefeller Park. In total, there are 31 distinct gardens, each commemorating a different ethnic group whose immigrants have contributed to the heritage of our country.

Hungarian Cultural Garden, Cleveland, Ohio

Great Lake Erie was my playground, as was the Metropolitan Park system, in that it preserved the land’s natural beauty. Euclid Beach Park was a popular amusement park located on the southern shore of Lake Erie in the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland. It provided fun for all ages, from amazing rides to homemade taffy, candy kisses, and their famous popcorn balls.

Accessing downtown Cleveland was an adventure: we traveled by bus or by the Rapid Transit that dipped underground in spots and ended underneath the Terminal Tower, a 52-story “skyscraper” built in 1930. Shopping experiences encountered huge buildings with revolving doors, elevators, escalators, and crowds of fast-walking people. As a child, I found the blustery winters difficult to maneuver. Mother taught my brother and I how to angle our backs against the windy snow as we turned each corner, then lay into the fury an inch at a time, and walk backward until we reached the next store.

Downtown Cleveland

More than fifty years later, Chicago becomes my home. However, its well-known nickname, “Windy City,” does not speak of the wind off Lake Michigan. In fact, it was coined in reference to Chicago’s braggart politicians who were deemed to be “full of hot air.” Since I was raised in a big city near Lake Erie, my enthusiasm was high, and I felt secure knowing how to battle the forces. The truth be told, Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States while Cleveland ranks forty-fifth.

Regardless of Chicago’s largeness, I navigate through the city without a problem, love riding the “El” above ground, and treasure my two-year stay. Navigating my old Toyota Corolla around town is a cinch; however, parking is not, and my car incurs several distortions on all sides .

Great Lakes & Internships II

In the Novitiate, preparing for entrance into the Sisters of Saint Francis, Clinton, Iowa.

September 3, 2002

Ahhhh … I finally lay eyes on big and beautiful Lake Michigan. Its average depth of 279 feet rules it the second deepest of the five Great Lakes. On the other hand, Lake Erie’s average depth of 62 feet determines it to be the shallowest. Lake Michigan’s water varies day by day from light blue to dark blue to bluish green, while Lake Erie’s limited depth remains a steady gray.

Hyde Park is my destination for another interview, and it just so happens to be within walking distance of the Lake. The walkway in front of the 1933 circa Science and Industry Museum beckons me to come over. My eyes are instantly fixed on a sandy beach and a park with many pathways; I feel like Alice in Wonderland sliding down a tunnel into a magical place. Huge concrete blocks surround the shoreline, identical to those at Cleveland’s Wildwood Park on Lake Erie.

Memories of my teenage summers in Cleveland promptly pop up. We teens in the East 185th Street neighborhood traversed these monster blocks on a dare. They were irregular, uneven masses of material that form the fishing pier. We dare devils needed balance not only for the massive rocks, but most of all for the one-foot-at-a-time steel beam that led to the end of the pier. Believe it or not, the return trip was the hardest trek.

Internships

As a Novice living in Chicago and in formation for vowed membership with the Franciscan Sisters, I expect to either work or study in an outreach ministry program. My interests and experiences are spiritual direction and Hospice care. Lucky me finds one of each and chooses both.

Unfortunately, my Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program does not work with Hospice. Although I am disappointed not working with those who are terminally ill, I am enthused to work with formerly homeless women with children. Therefore, my Spiritual Direction Internship helps me learn how to help others as well as myself. Both internships require regular meetings that include soul searching, letter writing, and self evaluations.

The women’s group consists of several women with children who are living in a supportive low-income apartment complex. Some of them lost custody of their children; some regained custody; others had relatives who helped with the children; others have no help. There are two fathers living with their families. Most of the women work outside the home and/or attend school; some are drawing disability insurance due to physical disabilities or injuries received from accidents.

The majority of the women are recovering from addictions and some are mandated by law to undergo recovery treatment. Therefore, the focus of the semi-monthly support group meeting I lead is the workbook entitled “The Twelve Steps – A Spiritual Journey to Healing Damaged Emotions”. The common belief of the group is that through God, and especially God as revealed in Scripture, all things are possible, and it is through prayer that addictions can be overcome and conquered.

My ministry of presence with the women moves in various directions throughout the year. At one point I consider my role to be that of midwife, the one who helps new life into being and protects it, who does things “with” not “to” the person giving birth, who helps the birth giver toward ever greater self knowledge. It is helpful to have a midwife to accompany us in any birthing process.

A primary key growth area for me throughout my ministry site experience is recognizing when to be flexible. I learn repeatedly that relaxing into the flow of what is happening lends to greater awareness of the situation

Discernment is a way of life. I try to actively listen to people as well as to my inner being as I travel on the road to vowed life.

Hyde Park neighborhood, located south of the downtown area, is best known for being the home to the University of Chicago.

Great Lakes & Internships I

In the Novitiate, preparing for entrance into the Sisters of Saint Francis, Clinton, Iowa.

Mom’s News

August 20, 2002

Many thanks to my awesome family for accommodating me last week. I enjoy staying with you, as opposed to living in the same town, and considering we have more quality time on these visits. The trip back from Lexington was uneventful; and  I got home in time for supper.

We are enjoying another break in the weather here in Chicago and opened all our windows … a lovely breeze flows through the dining room.  Today I bought a hanging bird feeder for my bedroom window, as well as some thistle seed in hope of attracting gold finches. I enjoy the birds.

Yesterday was frustrating … trying to find new health insurance, retrieving info on where to obtain my license plates, catching up with tons of mail and e-mail that arrived while I was gone, etc.  I also received instructions for my Urban Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) internship that caused me to gasp … and I began to feel very helpless and vulnerable.  I again question my intentions of putting myself through a complete turnaround in my life.  I know this is a normal reaction to a major transition and that tomorrow will be a better day (which it has been).

As for the CPE instructions, I was given a list and brief descriptions of at least 30 ministry sites from which to choose.  These include shelters, HIV/aids care, churches, non-profit organizations, prisons, environmental concerns, domestic and international violence groups, health care facilities, children’s homes, and street ministry.  I am completely impressed and overwhelmed at the same time with what lies ahead.  My instructions are to interview at least two places and find one to use for my site, and to have it set up by September 21.  I am leaning towards two women’s shelters/drop-in centers (Deborah’s Place or Sarah’s Circle); a women’s prison; The Peoples Church of Chicago (a Unitarian Universalist affiliation whose outreach is with the homeless); and of course a Hospice (if available).

All this is exciting, no matter how scary it may appear to be at this beginning stage, and it will be a wonderful experience.  I realize that I would never have had this opportunity if it weren’t for my call to religious life.  I appreciate your thoughts, energy, and prayers for this adventure.  The one ministry I know I will never consider is the street ministry: a night ministry outreach that runs from 8 pm to 2 am.

Today I received instructions from my other internship on Spiritual Direction.  It begins September 15 with an intense “retreat” (a working one I’m sure) in Michigan City, IN, at a place called Angela’s House.  I understand that Michigan City is on the South side of Lake Michigan, and so I’m looking forward to a few days away for some source of peaceful repose and powerful insights to peruse.

I look forward to seeing you again next week.

Love you all!

Mom

Michigan City, IN, beach on other side of Lake Michigan

Moving Forward …

As a result of my husband’s terminal illness and consequent death in 1984, I am bent on alternating my life. The children and I were introduced to and inspired by his great faith through his suffering. As for me, a felt need and desire for a deeper spiritual connection now outweighs all former activities, responsibilities, and ways of living.

Several years after becoming acquainted with the Sisters of Saint Francis, I make the move to Chicago. It is a decision my adult children support, knowing it isn’t a wild dream that Mom just dug up, but more like an itch that won’t go away.

I sell my house, give the money to my children, and donate my furniture to the Franciscan Sisters for their new house in Chicago where I will reside. I don’t want to own things. There’s freedom in that.

Stay tuned for the rest of the story.

On the screen is an illustration of Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) as I introduce to the audience who he was and how he lived in Italy. He abandoned a life of luxury for a life devoted to the poor.

A Spiritual Autobiography

My Spiritual Autobiography was written as an introduction to who I was in the year 2001: a pre-novitiate, considering joining the Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa

PART IV: THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION

Loving Creator,

I cannot recall the exact moment we met, but I know it was in my childhood.  I am sure we didn’t meet at church or in catechism class because I remember those experiences, and I was quite alone, full of worry, fear, and confusion. I did not experience you with my eyes, nor did I understand you with my mind (as the Sisters tried to teach); yet, somehow we did meet.

Hindsight is revelatory, for I now recall our secret rendezvous; you came to me, not in sight, sound, or thought, but in a felt presence. You were my protector, my comforter, my friend, and my hope. When I was sad because I felt alone, or when I felt totally alienated from my family, you were there. You were very faithful, and you knew me well. You simply stuck to me like glue, also waiting patiently for the sad times to pass.

We each changed through the years. I became more vibrant, especially when the desire for boys entered my life, and yet I also became distant. It was like living two lives; I lived an adventurous life with friends, and another life of obligatory existence with family. Your presence was felt in different ways.  You came to me through people, like my best friend Lynn, and my boyfriend Sonny. Little did I know then that you were manifested in their love and concern for me. 

Again, you adhered to me as my heart broke when we moved away from the only place I knew, away from those friends who incarnated your love for me. You placed yourself in the ragged edges of my torn heart and held vigil. It was during this time that I grew out of myself and into a different persona, and your presence was made known to me in the undivided concern and support of my parents. Yours was a stoic and stable presence, giving me strength. For the first time, I was able to know myself, which gave me permission to bloom. The geographic move was the onset of my transition and spiritual journey with you.

Finally, I heard you speak loud and clear when I met Joe Griffin. No, I didn’t recognize you at the time because I was blinded by the sight, sounds, and loving presence of Joe, and I was yet to discover that your name is LOVE.

GOD IS LOVE sounds too simple. Yet, it is the Truth. Why else would I have felt your presence throughout my life if not for those who manifested your love to me? Love is the best gift one can receive and also give away. It makes us happy, it gives us self-esteem, it brings peace; I experienced all this when Joe entered my life, and I knew that he was a very special gift from you.

I recognized you again and again and again as you gifted us with three beautiful children, each one a miracle and manifestation of LOVE. I was overwhelmed at my “luck” in having found a wonderful husband plus birthing three healthy babies, and I sometimes wondered why I was so lucky when others were so unlucky in their lives.

During our marriage, I began to realize that Joe had a unique relationship with Jesus, most especially Jesus in the Eucharist. I noticed how precious Joe’s faith was to him, whereas my faith was quite robotic. I learned more about my faith as it was taught to our children in Catholic schools, yet Joe’s belief was deeper than that.

You took my hand and held me up when Joe was stricken with cancer. You made yourself known to us throughout our ordeal as your angels met our needs in various ways. You cried with us and opened our eyes to all the good in our world. My awareness and appreciation of life became heightened at that time and my faith began to take on new meaning. My heart cracked open and allowed you to settle in the depths of my being and my life has been on high speed ever since.

In response to Nicodemus’ inquiries to Jesus about being “born again” and “must we crawl back into our mother’s womb to do so”, I say yes, we must. I have been reborn again and again, and in each birth I come out of your Sacred Womb with new stretch marks and energy. You are my Holy Midwife who coaches me as I labor with each new call, and encourages me to look inside my deepest self for the answer, wherein the seed of God resides.

Thank you, Source of All Life, for continuing to call.  Amenta!

A Spiritual Autobiography

My Spiritual Autobiography was written as an introduction to who I was in the year 2001: a pre-novitiate, considering joining the Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa

PART III: THE SPIRITUAL WORLD

MY WORLD, as I once knew it, vanishes after February 1, 1984. Joe’s death has an immense impact on me. I am puzzled because I do not cry. I sign up for a retreat eight months later, which is when the tears will come, so people tell me. I do not cry, I do not feel “alone”; I find refuge in Joe’s memory and spirit. It was through Joe’s suffering that we were introduced to his great faith, and it is his faith that was left behind as his legacy, and it is this legacy that comforts and sustains me.

A year passes when I make a Cursillo* weekend, sponsored by a friend who is also widowed. I fall in love with my own faith, and I feel alive and secure. I walk with Cursillo ten years in a leadership role. I grow and stretch in many unforeseen directions.

*Cursillo is a movement in the Catholic Church that teaches a method to live a committed Christian life.

I wish I could say the same for my children. They each have dreams of their father, that he comes back, and when they awake they are very sad. Yet, throughout his illness and the funeral, they were pillars of strength. Sometimes I feel bad that I am so happy when they are not. We do our best to help one another. I wish I could dream about Joe.*

I seek spiritual direction because I feel drawn to the religious life, and also because I am puzzled by my children’s behavior. I share with my children how I feel called to the religious life, and they are not pleased. Whenever I return from a Cursillo weekend, one of them has done an unthinkable act. After three tries at soliciting advice from priests, I discover the one with whom I am to receive spiritual direction for the next ten years, for he is the one who states that my children are afraid of losing another parent, and to all people but GOD, with whom they cannot argue! I retreat from sharing my spiritual longings with my children.

My world continues to expand as I participate in the Ministry Formation Program for three years. I learn more about my church, my spirituality, and myself. I discover my gifts and confidence in myself. I again feel empowered.

Twice during these times of spiritual growth, I am brought down physically with back problems and have two surgeries. I learn firsthand about suffering, and I also learn more about myself. Many people minister to me, especially my spiritual director who visits weekly. I continue to receive a paycheck as I miss months of work. I recall the words our pastor told Joe when he was the recipient of many unsolicited gifts: There is a time to give and a time to receive, now is your time to receive. I feel blessed, and I give up any control I thought I had over my life.

At the age of fifty I also give up my desire to become a religious, and I decide to retire early to do volunteer work. Just as Joe entered a new life at this age, so I want to make the rest of my life worthwhile. I take time to consider my future finances and finally take the plunge at the age of fifty-three. My motto: “linger and be available”.

It is during this discernment process that Joe begins to visit me in my dreams. My spiritual director (now a religious sister) helps with the interpretations. Each dream presents new insights. I find myself being led by Joe’s spirit into a much deeper web of life. His eyes remain blue and he wears my favorite blue shirt. I feel at peace.

It is also about this time that my children become settled in their marriages and parenthood. I find it a blessing to have adult relationships with them. I now have two wonderful grandchildren, Sophia and Joshua, and have the privilege of regularly babysitting each of them during their first year of life. Babies are such a nice way to start people!

I surrender control over my physical condition, I retire from my job, I release my desire to become a religious, and I feel free to pursue the roles to which I feel called: I walk with my mother as she faces her own life-threatening illness and stay at her side until she dies; I become a Hospice volunteer; I establish a bookstore at our retreat center; I join a women’s group and establish one of my own; and I linger and be available to all who call.

ENTER: Sisters of St. Francis of Clinton, Iowa. I am now an active Associate of the Clinton Franciscans, a Coordinator of the Associate Partnership, and a Candidate for vowed membership. Let go and let God . . .

Thanks for listening. Enjoy the pictures below. Next Week: Part IV Theological Reflection.

Silver Springs, Florida

Joe, Pat, Lil Joe, Mary, Trish

A Spiritual Autobiography

My Spiritual Autobiography was written as an introduction to who I was in the year 2001: a pre-novitiate, considering joining the Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa

PART II: KENTUCKY

NEW HOME, new school, I begin to reflect more inwardly. I am received with open arms in high school and excel nicely. Even before I graduate, my business teacher finds a job for me at the University of Kentucky. My world expands.

I am now living at home with my parents and working full time, but dating very seldom. I renew my loving relationship with my parents and travel back to Cleveland as often as possible, riding with other fellow Clevelanders who moved to Kentucky with the same company. Mom and I attend Mass regularly.

Mother now steps into the picture and decides that I need to find a nice Catholic boy and get married, and so she arranges for the parish priest to call and invite me to the Catholic Club. There is no way of getting out of this invitation, and so I go to the January meeting. For some reason, I return to the February meeting, and it is there that I meet my mother’s desire for me, Joseph Griffin.

It is love at first sight! It is Divine Intervention! We marry on November 28, 1964: I am 19, Joe is 30; I attended public schools, Joe went to Catholic schools; I am a born Yankee, Joe is a perfect Southern Gentleman! Opposites DO attract! Praise God!

Joe is the opposite of my father, and yet Dad and Joe get along very well. Joe shows no anger and is always pleasant. Our first Christmas tree is crooked and bare in spots, so unlike the perfect specimens my father brought home, and yet Dad is able to accept Joe’s imperfections whereas I am a bit dismayed. Joe attends Mass and has a devotion to the Eucharist and I begin to notice something very special about my husband.

We are blessed with three beautiful children, Trish, Mary and Joe, and discover that each time we move, a child is born, and so we decide to settle! The children attend Catholic schools and keep us quite busy with all their extracurricular activities.

During the children’s growing up years, I don’t have much time to attend to my interior life; rather, I learn how to become more outgoing (children have a way of doing that to their parents)! It isn’t until the youngest is in first grade that I go back to work, which again takes me outside of myself.

We are married eighteen years when Joe starts to experience pain in his back. Tests do not reveal a major problem, and so he is treated for back pain and given exercises. Eventually, he has surgery, which reveals a “benign” tumor on his pancreas; however, the pain continues. It is one year later when we travel to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota that he is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He lives another year.

Our lives change considerably during these last years of Joe’s life. Joe is unemployed and stays home, I work, and the kids go to school. Trish is a freshman in college, Mary a freshman in high school, and son Joe in seventh grade. Joe turns fifty and I am thirty-eight. We are graced with the help of many people, some anonymously, who make our family life a little more bearable by their generosity, such as, my employer allows me time off with pay whenever I need to be with Joe, our church takes up a collection for us, people leave money in our mail box, relatives support us in various ways. It is a very humbling experience.

Thanks for listening. Enjoy the pictures below. Next Week: Part III The Spiritual World

• Joe & Pat Griffin
• November 28, 1964

• Elsie & Bob Ambrose
• July 26, 1941

A Spiritual Autobiography

My Spiritual Autobiography was written as an introduction to who I was in the year 2001: a pre-novitiate, pondering over joining the Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa

PART I: OHIO

MY DEBUT on earth takes place in Cleveland, Ohio on February 13, 1945. I am named Patricia Lee Ambrose and am the daughter of Robert Paul and Elsie Serola Ambrose, little sister to 15-month-old Rocco Ambrose. My formal entrance into the Roman Catholic Church via the Sacrament of Baptism takes place on March 25 at St. Mary’s Church. I am called “Patty”.

Relationships take on an early meaning for me. I see myself in light of the other people in my family … I am daughter, sister, cousin, granddaughter, niece. I appear to be afraid and cry often. I develop closeness with my mother early on, and as I grow up I become the apple of my father’s eye, much to the chagrin of brother “Rocky”!

Kindergarten is not a safe place for me. I feel very inferior, self-conscious and lonely. I am laughed at by a blind boy, picked on by my big brother, and fearful of being so far apart from home and Mom. As time passes, I discover that school can be fun and that I enjoy certain subjects, such as spelling and grammar.

In the fourth grade I am placed in the Enrichment class. I now take French, which quickly becomes another favorite subject. However, I am uncomfortable with the feeling of segregation from the rest of the school, and I am embarrassed by the nickname “brains” that my new class has been dubbed by other students.

My mother is very devoted to the Church and regularly attends Mass, and I feel safe when I accompany her. My father does not go to Church and I sometimes wonder why. Both Rocky and I attend catechism classes on Sundays.

Nature enters my childhood via my brother’s and father’s love of sunrises, fossils, flowers and woods. Our family often ventures on nature walks through the Metropolitan Park system of Cleveland and explores the caves of Nelson’s Ledges.  Occasionally Rocky tries to arouse me to watch the sunrise or to view the newly fallen snow that magically materializes during the night, but I do not like mornings and would prefer that he not bother me!

Our family is pretty close-knit and shares many laughs together, especially with our comedian father who finds fun things to do and laugh about. But, something else makes me very uneasy … it is Dad’s anger that rears its ugly head very unexpectedly and is always directed at Mom.

Christmas is always magical! All the relatives on my father’s side meet at Gram Ambrose’s house on Christmas Eve. Lots of ethnic foods (Italian, Slovenian, Bohemian), fun, music and laughter abound. Sometimes we even roll up the carpet and dance! Most everyone attends Midnight Mass and then returns to their respective homes. And then the magical moment arrives when Dad looks upward and sees Santa and his sleigh riding into the starry sky, and Rocky and I run inside to find the gifts he left behind!

Carol is a new name added to my identity as I make my confirmation at the age of twelve. It is also the same year that I graduate from Memorial Elementary School and move on to Collinwood Junior and Senior High School. The feeling of insecurity again surfaces as I trip up the long flight of stairs to the front entrance of Collinwood and enter into a vast domain of unfamiliar territory.

Socialization is key for me now, and I discover a new world of fun. But, I still find myself “trapped” in the enrichment program, now named Major Work, and I find an ally by the name of Lynn with whom to “escape”! It is in the eight grade that Lynn and I “rebel” and leave behind the “geniuses.”

Of course, boys enter the picture about now, and I find a steady by the name of Sonny who attends St. Joseph Catholic High School. Lynn and I vow to never let a boy break us up, and so each night we catch up on the phone for hours after Sonny and I talk. I am able to share everything with Lynn, and vice versa. In both Sonny and Lynn, I discover unconditional love.

Disaster comes to me at the age of 16 when my father informs the family that we will move to Kentucky. I take the news very badly, yet everyone else is excited. I am so set against the move that I turn against my family and withdraw. It isn’t until we take a trip to Lexington that I feel pretty foolish for acting the way I did. I can’t help but feel good after seeing how excited everyone else is and how they are looking forward to the change.

Thanks for listening. Enjoy the pictures below.
Next Week: Part II Kentucky

Rocky and Patty in their new Mercury wagon!

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo began in 1882. Here we are in the year 1949.

We are growing up and ready to celebrate our cousin’s wedding. Rocky is the wedding ring barer and I am in a very pretty dress