Things I've Learned On The Journey...!!!

Fran,

Thank you.

Except for the Nuns and Parochial school this is what I was taught.

I don't know about 5, but then I was blessed to know my Grand Parents and 3 Great Grand Parents well in to my Teens and late twenties. We are who we associate with and personally I was very lucky.

Bill

"Mega Dittos!"  Sounds like we had the same parents and went to the same schools.  No complaints here, and a lot of gratitude for the lessons learned.  Thanks for sharing.

Spoken from the mouth of a good parochial student's past.

Great post, Fran!

A couple of years ago I was in NJ ... I was driving down Route 9W and passed the Motherhouse for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace ... I pulled in and knocked at the door to pay a visit.

I had not seen a Sister of St. Joseph since I was graduated from Annunciation RC School eighth grade in 1966.

I met my kindergarden teacher ... Sister Ursula, who left for missionary work in the Philippines when I was in the first grade. Sister Ursula was my first childhood heroine ... we used to raise money for the missions and I idolized her. Imagine how amazing it was to meet her as a 50-something alumna ... and she remembered me! She asked about other classmates by name ... it was amazing.

Thanks for sharing ... your blog post took me on a special trip down Memory Lane today. I will be grateful forever for the Sisters of Saint Joseph and the Sisters of Charity. They were amazing ladies and I learned MUCH from them.

Great post, Fran. Reading through it took me back to the small Catholic school I attended for grades 1-6. We recently were told it is likely closing down at the end of this school year due to lack of funds. My heart breaks. The values you mentioned are so simple and yet so important. It's so nice to be reminded of those things that can make the road so much easier when you base your life around them.

Fran,

I did not attend Catholic schools but both my parents did and then met at Incarnate Word and St. Mary's in San Antonio. What a gift my parents gave my bothers and I by instilling those Catholic values to all of us. Amazingly we all married Catholics and are practicing Catholics today. Five kids and 14 grandkids later they just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

fun stuff Fran, and your point about parents being the best teacher is worth it's weight in gold.

Well...I think there are good morals and values. In my adult life I learned stuff like...the mind is a powerful thing..nothing is constant in this world except change...no what ifs if I try it...I have no control over anyone except ME, we are all human and all have different opinions, communication is key to setting boundaries...and all that good stuff :) :)

Fran,

You are right they did concentrate on refinement as they expected and constantly strove for perfection and helped you understand that was the bench mark!