Saturday, May 6, 2023
With Mothers Day being tomorrow, I feel this is a good time to do this. I met Sr. Mary Celine when I was 9 years old. She was the Sister in charge of 12 or 15 girls around the same age. Frightened & lonely she tried her best to comfort me. So many memories of St. Mary's & living there for the next 4 or 5 years. She was a beautiful young woman & I realize now that she was only 9 years older than I was. Where did she get the wisdom & love to care for all of us! She was also our teacher & I have to admit I wasn't an ACE student but through her I learned to love reading, music, poetry, & love & compassion for others, along with my other subjects. We kept in touch for all these years, mostly at Christmas & her birthday. When I became critically ill & again when we lost a child at age 5, she drove from upstate NY to be with me in NJ & stayed through the funeral service. Many years later we managed to get together with her at Convent Station & spend the afternoon together. She was still the warm loving person I remembered her to be. She introduced me to the other Sisters as "her daughter." (Imagine the strange looks! )When telling people about her I often referred to her as "my other mother." Our youngest daughter also made a visit to her because she wanted to meet the person who "molded her Mom." I was thrilled that they met.
