Random Thoughts from Childhood Series – Oh What a Day
January 22, 2010
OH WHAT A DAY
Mat's Memories From Childhood
I really enjoyed the catholic school that I was placed into because the class size was much smaller than the public school and no one teased or picked on me. The trade off was that I had to wear a cheesy uniform of plaid shorts, white button up shirt and a clip on tie. There were variations of the uniform and I seemed to wear the wrong combination all too often. The other trade off was punishment by the head Nun should one step out of line. That punishment was a ruler to the palm of the hand and the number of times you where struck on the palm depended on the infraction. I had this punishment several times and OH how I hated that ruler!
I had a habit of spacing out and being completely oblivious to my surrounding. Maybe I had A.D.D., but whatever the case was I seemed to zone out at the most inappropriate time. I sat in the front row in class and this one time during lecture, I stood up as if I was the only one in the room and walked to the back of the room where the wall was lined with closets. I stepped inside the closet and closed the door partway and proceeded to go through the other student’s lunches. I ate someone’s Twinkie and took a bite out of someone else’s peanut butter sandwich. I suddenly hear a faint noise in the background and then snap out my trance. I hear the teacher yelling my name and telling me to remove myself from the closet and come to the front of the class immediately! All the other students just stared at me in silence as I walked to the front of the class. I was grabbed by the arm and escorted out of the class and down the hall to the head Nun. I was placed inside her office and spent a brief moment by myself as the teacher explained what happened to the Nun. I just knew I would be punished with the dreaded ruler. I started guessing in silence on how many times my palm would be hit, when suddenly the door opened and the Nun stood there with hands on her hip shaking her head. The door closed and she said nothing. She walked to her desk and opened a drawer and out came the RULER. I wanted to cry, but refused to let her see any tears. She grabbed my left hand and said I would be getting ten hits! I gasped and screamed TEN!
She would always count out loud, ONE TWO, THREE, after each strike. The first few always hurt the most and then the hand would become numb. The punishment began and as she reached THREE the most wonderful thing happened. I can’t believe it! It was the sweetest sight, pure nirvana! The ruler broke in two and I watched in slow motion as the broken piece flipped into the air and ricocheted off her desk and hit the ground. The hated ruler lost and I won! Figuring she had to be done, I went to turn and head for the door and she said, “Where are you going?” I stared in sheer horror as she opens another drawer and pulls out a new ruler. The terror did not stop there. The drawer was full of dozens of rulers! Oh crap! The really sad part was that I actually thought that was the only ruler and not once considered the existence of others. Sad I know! She finishes NINE, TEN, and then I’m told to return to class.
I get back just in time for confession. This is my first confession and I have no idea what to expect. We walk single file to the chapel and enter in groups of five. I’m in the second group that enters and we watch as each person walks into a small closet and closes the door. I faintly hear each one start with “Forgive me father for I have sinned” followed by something they did wrong. My heart starts to race and I begin to panic. It’s my turn and my legs feel like lead as I enter and close the door. I hear the priest say “Yes son” and I stand there in silence. My head is spinning and I’m trying to think of something bad I did, but draw a blank. Suddenly, I know what to say and I begin with “Forgive me father for I have sinned” and I hear “Go ahead.” I make something up and say “I stole a lollipop from my brother.” I’m told to do two Hail Mary’s and then I exit the room. Will this day ever end? I just want to go home to Ivy House.
The irony of the confession was that I lied, which was a sin. So I committed a sin to tell a sin and completely forgot about the sin I just committed early in the day by stealing someone’s lunch. I really have a knack of making my life harder than it needs to be but hey, I’m a kid and there’s plenty of time to correct that……………
January 2010 Face of a Foster Care Graduate – Edna Brady
January 12, 2010
Our January feature comes to us from Maryland. She is the mother of 3, a strong believer in attending church and a dedicated animal shelter volunteer. Please welcome Edna…….
Name: Edna Brady
State: Maryland
Occupation: Federal Servant
Favorite source of inspiration: Enjoys reading all kinds of inspirational stories and loves the movies Pay it Forward and Remember the Titans
Edna Brady
My name is Edna Brady. I was in foster care from 18 months old to almost 18 years old. I was in four different foster homes. The last one I was in for 11 years. I have five biological sisters (one deceased) and three biological brothers and one foster brother who I still consider a brother.
Even though my last foster father was a pedophile, he did make sure we went to church every Sunday. I believe going to that church consistently, gave me a foundation of lifetime friends and mentors. I still keep in touch with my Sunday School teachers. Until recently, I never told anyone that my foster father was a pedophile and that his wife just accepted it. I know part of me knew that I wouldn’t be believed and that I would be left in their care.
I felt a tremendous amount of shame and I was always embarrassed when a social worker came to school to pick me up for my monthly visits with my mom. I felt like I was being hauled off to jail or something. It made me stand out from the rest of the class.
When most teenagers found sanctuary in drugs and alcohol, I was reading books. I don’t really know why I consistently said no to drugs. It’s just something I didn’t want to do. I did well in high school, being on the honor roll most of the time. I graduated high school in 1979 at the age of 17. The summer that I graduated high school, I worked at the high school until I went to nursing school in September. While working at the high school, I made friends of some of the teachers. I still keep in touch with them and visit them occasionally. I didn’t do well in nursing school. I was so shy with everybody. I was in a very strange environment and I didn’t have the support of family like the rest of my classmates. If I had gone back to nursing school several years later, I believe that I would have done well. I stayed in nursing school for 3 months. After leaving nursing school my high school guidance counselor advised me to go in the military. We spoke to a marine recruiter and I joined the marines at 18 years of age. I currently have 23 years of federal service, including almost 2 years in the marines.
I have 3 children of whom I am very proud. None of them have ever done drugs and they rarely drink alcohol. My oldest daughter is a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force. My youngest daughter is disabled and is doing well in an adult day program. My son graduated from an automotive diesel college and is a diesel mechanic.
