Trying to describe the life one is living as one is living it is difficult. Those things that are significant to me may very well not speak to someone else.
We now live in Western NY about 75 miles SSE of Buffalo, pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Ten years ago after 36 years of married life in VT we relocated to Portville, NY primarily to be closer to most of our grandchildren. Right now 13 of our 15 grandchildren(ages 2 years to 22 years) live within a stone's throw as the saying goes. Our lives center around theirs and around our parish which is the beautiful Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in Olean, NY.
We purchased 43 acres of mostly wooded property five and a half miles outside of town and built a new home in 2006. My husband has succeeded in turning about 5 acres of it into lawn and a large pond. The rest remains wooded and the home to all sorts of wildlife which frequently make their appearance. There is always a family or church project (often one and the same), a concert, soccer game or a party to attend. And our house is always a work in progress as we come up with new ideas.
We lived for 36 years in Vergennes, VT, my husband's hometown. While much of the time I was an at- home mom, I did hold several different types of jobs ranging from clerical work for G.S. Blodgett Co. to teaching both in public school and at the Job Corps Center to working as assistant to the director of a private adoption agency licensed in VT and several other states. I also operated my own business doing some desktop publishing and assisting people in writing grants, project proposals, resumes, etc.
We had a motor home in which we traveled all around the country with our four children. We have visited every state except Alaska and have managed trips to Mexico and frequently to Canada. Life has been and continues to be an adventure.
It's a good thing I like learning, because I haven't stopped. BA Trinity College majoring in sociology; Masters of Education specializing in behavior modification in special education; working on my PHD of life...my degree in progress.
While not one to give organ recitals, I've learned more anatomy/physiology/biology as applied to my human body than I ever learned in the labs of HS and college. All done whether or not I wanted to (not my curriculum but HIS). I am continuously learning chemistry/nutrition and applying it to dietary habits for heart disease, cancer (first husband Peter Coleman), now diabetes and dialysis (second husband Shawn). All done whether or not I wanted to (not my curriculum but HIS).
My masters came in handy both in teaching and in having a family (and now seeing those fruits bearing fruit in grandchildren). My sociology came in handy giving back to my community and serving on various boards. I've learned some law as it applies to bequeaths, wills, adoption, building codes. I've learned some accounting/bookkeeping and applied it to running a business and doing personal and corporate taxes.
Now it seems that I am learning a little Zen trying to mellow out, take things easier. I've become more metaphysical looking at things. I've honed my comedic skills to the degree where one granddaughter looks at me and says, "Tricia, you are so silly". And my highest honor comes when her mother calls to ask, "can she come up to see you, she's had a bad day at school?"
"Not my curriculum but HIS" is my faith which began as a mustard seed, is growing and evolving daily; sometimes seems to leave me; sometimes smacks me like a 2 x 4 between the eyes...my 12" ruler aiding me throughout all of these wondrous, educational degrees of life.
No biography provided
After graduation I landed a 4th grade teaching job in my hometown. After two years it was time to move. Nancy(Ferry)Colgan, Sue(Graf)Sharpe and I summered at cape Cod and moved outside Boston in the fall.
In that short span since graduating, elementary teachers had become "a dime a dozen!" and I was jobless-with rent, car payments etc. I taught remedial reading for one year and then we all went in different directions. I returned home(with a teaching job, Nancy got married and she and Sue moved to Cape Cod-not together!
I married in 1980-no children-and divorced in 1996. very amicably I might add! Continued teaching until I was able to retire early in 2004 after 36 years.Never thought I could retire at 57 but was MORE THAN ready. Loved it in the early years but kids(and parents!) today.......
.Anyway, love, love retirement! One year later I met the love of my life at our Country Club. John owned his own business where 4 of his 5 married children worked. He also had 16 grandchildren. Needless to say life became very hectic with our new relationship, numerous family events and the births of 8 great-grandchildren! We had almost 10 years together. He died in March 2015.He was the nicest man I've ever known and loads of fun!
My life is quieter now but still very full. I've done a lot of travelling. Recently my 3 sisters (one here and 2 in Charlottesville,VA) went to CA to visit our brother and meet his new wife. His first marriage at age 70!
I winter in Bradenton, FL and love the weather and the chance to play golf year round. I've been blessed with excellent health and enjoy get-togethers with Nancy, Sue and Kathy Barry. Very much looking forward to seeing everyone next June!
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In his enduring poem "Ulysses," Tennyson writes: "I am part of all that I have met." As I consider both my time at Trinity and the past 50 years, I am well aware of how true that is.
Who can forget our time at Trinity with professors and friends who taught us both wisely and well and the unique experiences we shared during those years! There are memories too unique and numerous to mention, but surely we all can agree that these experiences have shaped who we are today. I could not have had a better college or life experience than I had at Trinity. I truly believe that the education I received there lay the foundation for every career success I had the good fortune to experience.
Upon graduation, I joined Extension Society Volunteers, an organization similar to VISTA. Through Extension, I worked in Joplin, Missouri, where in addition to English, I taught religion and occasionally Math and French! (Perhaps you will remember that Joplin was on national news a few years ago when a devastating tornado demolished a major section of the city, including the area in which I lived.)
Following two years in Extension, I returned to Troy, NY, and began a thirteen-year teaching and department chairperson experience at Catholic Central High School. During that time, I also earned a graduate degree from the University at Albany.
In 1983, I moved to Hudson Valley Community College, where I served 24 years as faculty member, department chairperson, and finally academic dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Health Sciences. Over the years, I had the good fortune to meet and teach a broad cross-section of memorable students, to be associated with organizations of which I was extremely proud and to work with colleagues and leaders who exemplified professionalism, dedication and compassion.
Now that I am retired, I enjoy life in different ways. I remain involved by serving on advisory boards and by following all that happens at HVCC. In addition, I enjoy traveling, reading, golfing and taking continuing ed classes when possible. We maintain a home in Malta, NY, where we spend a great deal of our time. In 2014, we purchased a home in The Villages, Florida, where we enjoy warm winters and new friendships (as well as lots of visitors)! The joys of my personal life are many and intimately woven with my educational experiences and professional career.
Not only did I meet my husband Jim while teaching at Catholic High, but throughout the years, I have been blessed with friends who, as Tennyson suggests, have made me who I am today. I am forever grateful to them. In "Ulysses," Tennyson goes on to say: "… all experience is an arch wherethrough gleams that untraveled world whose margin fades forever and forever when I move." His poem about the importance of living life "to the lees" is one that greatly inspires me. I feel that it is important to live each day fully, to act with compassion and integrity, and to be grateful for all the experiences that have, indeed, formed who I am.
1- lovely and much-loved husband (now deceased) 2- kind, hard-working children 6- above-average grandchildren (really,they are!)
1- farm 100's of Holsteins 6- horses 12- ducks (one which hated water) 1- pet pig named Winona, however, she thought she was a dog
12- dogs, most were great companions 2500- talented middle school students over 25 years ( a few stinkers) 1- caring community
1- passel of friends 2- kayaks 3- days at the gym 1- book club 1- cozy house on 74 acres 0- minutes of boredom
1,000,000- times grateful for where I was planted
Ed and I have been in Williamsburg VA since 2004. Ed has his own company and works at home. I retired from full-time teaching six years ago, but I am still employed by the Williamsburg Jams City Schools servicing homebound and homebased students. I still love working with kids and love the flexibility of this position.
Ed is retired Air Force and, therefore, we have lived in different locations. We actually spent over twenty years in Germany! I spent many of these years teaching in the Department of Defense Schools. Our four children basically were products of this school system.
Presently, our oldest, Ed, is in Carlisle PA in the Army (three kids), our daughter, Jaime is in Orlando (three kids), our son, Jeremy, is in Lake Mary FL, and our youngest, Matt, is in Colorado Springs in the Air Force….Matt recently married and the wedding was in Lebanon!
We love Williamsburg, but still have many reunions with family and friends in various places. We manage to take three ski trips each winter season, but I only ski on beautiful sunny days! Life is good!
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After graduation I began married life, worked as a Social Worker, eventually experienced motherhood, and moved to Maine where I worked as a Counselor at the local community college.
I earned my Master's degree in Counseling and Adult Education which led to a position in Student Services at UNH and later at the University of Maine.
My husband died in 1987 at the age of 40. I raised my two brilliant children on a one-person income sending Nathan to Johns Hopkins and my daughter, Marti to the University of Maine.
Eventually I became the Director of an off-campus and on-line Center of the University of Maine System where I worked for 27 years until retirement in 2012.
I remarried in 2004 to a man who had never been married and together we have enjoyed traveling to places like Turkey, Prague, the Blue Danube (along with my high school and college friend, Kathy Cain Vinet and her husband). I still enjoy visits to my family's cottage on Lake Champlain and I live on a small pond where I kayak in the summer.
After graduation, I worked at IBM in New York City. A co-worker friend introduced me to the love of my life. Eddie and I got married in 1971, and we have two children, Kevin and Megan.
When the kids were in elementary school, I decided to go back to school. I received a Masters in Computer Information Science, and I worked as a computer trainer and a systems administrator for several years.
In 1985, we pulled up our New York roots and moved to the Boston suburbs where we have lived ever since. We also have a condo at Okemo Mountain and are avid Red Sox fans. So I guess we are officially New Englanders!
We both are retired and enjoy skiing, biking, golf and tennis. We have taken two bike trips in Europe - one in Normandy and one in the Dolomites. We hope to be able to take a few more while we are still able to ride. We have five grandchildren. Kevin lives in Rockville Centre, NY with his wife and two sons and daughter. Megan lives in West Roxbury, MA with her husband and two sons. We try to see all of them as much as possible. In addition to sports, I play bridge, knit, read, and am a volunteer Medicare counselor.
So life is good, and l look forward to seeing everyone in Burlington in June!
I married Tom Callahan (a Clevelander) in 1969 and started producing babies almost a year to the day after marriage. I taught first grade in Cleveland and Bridget was born just a couple of weeks after school let out for the summer. Tom was brilliant, a genius, everyone liked him. We had four kiddies over nine years. He made a good living in Cleveland and I loved his family. (still do) But Tom started drinking and became paranoid, then violent towards me. It was “A Beautiful Mind” story with an ugly ending.
I finally put the four kids plus our guinea pig into an old Chevy and drove to Vermont. Tom’s sainted mother came with me just to help. We must have looked like the Oakies during the Depression: Me, four wild kids, a squealing guinea pig, and my mother in law who smoked like a chimney, all of us packed into the Impala with an ironing board and potty chair tied to the roof (MaryAlice was just 2 1/2., still potty training). Long story short, I left the kids in Bennington with my folks, went to Burlington and got a job at the University of Vermont Hospital (at that time it was called the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont). I worked in the Business Office and helped patients sort their bills, their insurance, and helped them get financial assistance.
I found an apartment in the Winooski ghetto. I lied to the landlord to get in there; I told him that I had three children, no pets. When Marcel Thibault, the landlord, came the first time to collect the rent he saw four kids plus the guinea pig and a baby chick that Bridget had “won” at school. Yikes! He was cool about it though, and we became friends.
I immediately applied for the Farmer’s Home Administration Home Loan program and bought a real fixer-upper in Hinesburg, VT two years later. We were moving’ on up! Meanwhile, I got several promotions at work. I also met several really nice men who were crazy enough to propose marriage to me. But my four kids were - shall we say, spirited, dynamic? Most of these suitors liked to sit home and read, or one liked to drive race cars. None of that worked with my tribe. I was their only parent (Tom dropped out of the picture) and until the baby was on her own I needed to concentrate on raising them.
Well, along comes little Meg Muller in the same grade as my Nora Callahan. Meg’s parents were divorced. It was like a Disney movie. I met John at a Parent-Teacher Conference. We had a date. He was an excellent parent to Meg. He knew how to get things done around an old house. He promised never to come between my kids and me. We married four months later. That was 30 years ago. It’s been grand. My children love John. Meg loves me. Nice end to the story.
We both are retired. I got sacked after 23 years at the hospital as a director and went to work for GE Healthcare (formerly IDX, started by Amy Tarrant’s ex-husband, Richard). John retired from BFG Aerospace. We love our home, love seeing the kids come (and go), and enjoy travel. We always have a madhouse around July 4th, then a quiet rest of the summer. We have been fortunate. Life is good. So far we both still use our original knees and hips although we have had a couple of cancer scares, and I was at death’s door a year or so ago with sepsis. (Nasty stuff! All better now) The five kids have done well, and we have seven healthy, extremely brilliant grandchildren. I don’t know what else one can ask of in life. It’s been an adventure.
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