This is a picture of my mom and my Grampa Chet O'Toole. I loved my Grampa very much and he loved me too. I always felt special to my Grampa. He was a storytelling Irishman and I learned much about crafting a story from him. He lived life in a very big way. If personality characteristics are genetic, then I feel like I inherited my spunk and the fine art of storytelling from him.
My sister, Janey was born eighteen months after me. She was a wonderful playmate throughout my childhood. We spent hours playing together and trying to steer clear of our mischievous older brother. Janey and I have a rich history rooted in childhood. As adults, we often recite poems or songs we made up as children. If I ever need to fill in the details of some fuzzy childhood memory, Janey is my first call. It is good to have someone in my life who has known me all my life.
I would complete my web with pictures of teachers who inspired me and nurtured me in so many wonderful ways. One in particular is my teacher and coach, Jim Whitney or "Whit". I credit getting through some very tough times to Whits commitment to my success in high school. He cared radically about me then and he continues to to this day. I have spent my adult life thanking him.
Hi Katy,
ReplyDeleteI love the lady bug girl storym My four year old enjoyed listening to the story also. I also enjoyed looking at all of your photos. It's nice they were preserved.
Magretta
Hi Katherine,
ReplyDeleteI like your childhood web that you have created. As Mahaley, I see that you also had a very good upbringing that was surrounded with people who loved, cared, and instilled great values and useful information within you.
Seeing that you were 18months older than your sister, i'm sure had it's ups and downs; for one you didn't you didn't have much time where you were the "focused" attention, but instead you were blessed with a playmate. Growning up I had a brother who is 2 years older than me,and a sister that is 9 years older than me. I didn't have much relationship with my sister because she was much older, other than her looking after me; nor from my brother because he wanted to do "dumb boy things". Although now, I see my sister sometimes 2times a week and my brother about 2 or 3 times a month.
Thanks for sharing your memories,
Sherrell
I love that you have such old photos to share! My mother is collecting old photos of our family and is constructing our family tree, and I love seeing the documents, photos, and information she collects. One of my favorites is the page from the book from Ellis Island that my father's grandfather signed when he came to the US from Italy.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your photos!
What great memories you have of your grandpa and your sister. I too had a storytelling Irishman for a grandpa and he also had a personality that was larger than life. You could always count on him for a story or a joke.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't fortunate enough to have siblings, but my daughters are 18 months apart and I hope they share the same great relationship you seem to have with your sister.
Katy,
ReplyDeleteNot only was your Personal Childhood information great but I absolutely love the photos. I can absolutely tell just by looking at them how close you were to your grandfather and your sister Janey. Its nice to have a sibling whom you can share a lot of your history and future with. I always wished I had that. Thank you for sharing more of yourself with us.
It is wonderful that you not only have family who have influenced you, but a teacher as well. I too have a teacher that is from my Elementary school days still in my life today. It is amazing that teachers have such staying power in our lives. They are people just like us, but somehow hold this incredible power to be so much more! Thanks for sharing. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Katy. So far, it's only you and me that have our blog address in. My name is Jay and this is my second term here at Walden. You have a very creative page and I'm sure we'll talk again. It's a pleasure having in this term... :0)
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