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JOURNALING from mini book on previous page (wouldn't fit on other space)
MY CHILDHOOD
I was born in Somerville, Massachusetts on October 3, 1968. My parents, Riccardo (Rick) and Nancy were 21 and 20 years old respectively. We lived in a small apartment in Somerville, MA and my next-door neighbor, Maureen, became my first best friend. Maureen had one brother and 4 sisters and we all used to play together every day. In April of 1970, my brother and only sibling, Stephen, was born. My Mom was left to care for both of us on her own while my Dad was in the Army. He only got to come home for 2 weeks when my brother was born and then he had to go right back to Pleiku, Vietnam. My Mom told me that I used to go to the back stairs at night and call out, “Rick, Rick” just like she did when she called my Dad. I guess I didn’t fully understand why he was gone or when he would be back. When I was about 5 years old, we moved to Cambridge, MA, to a three family house that my Grandfather owned. He wanted my Dad to take care of the tenants for him. We lived on the first floor, and I remember I had my small organ under one of the front windows and I would play music for hours and hours. I went to school just across the street at the Longfellow School. I also took piano lessons once a week at the school. The thing I remember most about this house is the Madonna shrine my Grandfather build in the tiny front yard. I just drove by that house last week while I was in the area, and believe it or not, the shrine is still standing, almost fifty years later! Just as I was getting out of my car to look around, there was a young couple walking down the sidewalk and they stopped and snapped a few pictures of the statue. I know if my Grandfather were still here today, that would make him very proud.
In September 1976, we moved to Billerica, MA where I would spend the next 26 years. I went to the Talbot Elementary School and then the Marshall Middle School from grades 6-8. I made another very close friend, Heidi, in the fifth grade. We were in Mr. Bird’s class and we used to pass notes back and forth. I can recall one day Heidi talked me into playing tic-tac-toe with her. She would make her move on the paper and then pass it to me and so forth. Well, we ended up getting caught! We laughed about that for many years after.
THE TEEN YEARS
I met my first love, Wayne, in my freshman year of High School. I was only 14 and he was 16 years old. He was my very first ‘real’ boyfriend. I can still remember the butterflies I had while I waited for him to pick me up for our very first date--which was MY first date EVER. It was on June 9, 1983 and I spent about 2 hours getting ready. I was SO nervous while I waited, that I ended up taking an Alka Selzer for the first time in my life to calm my stomach down. We went to the Tiki Hut restaurant and had Peking Duck. He gave me a beautiful basket of flowers and I felt so special. We had a very strong, immediate bond and spent every single day together. He ended up enlisting in the Army and left on July 16, 1985. I was absolutely devastated, not knowing when the next time I would see him would be. We wrote often and he used to send me pictures and packages with teddy bears and stuffed animals and other things. When he came home for the first time in December of that same year, he used his bonus to buy me an engagement ring. My parents were NOT very happy about it, and I was not allowed to wear the ring around any other family members. While I was very young still, I was very mature for my age and I knew what I wanted and that was to be with Wayne forever. We had set a date to get married on June 9, 1990, what would have been our seventh anniversary of dating. Unfortunately, life ended up not going in the direction I had thought and dreamed of for so long. I guess being away for so long and being around so many other guys telling each other stories about how their girlfriends are probably back home cheating on them and/or having a good time took its toll on him. I was devastated. I am not afraid to admit that it still hurts fifteen years later. After all, he was my first love.
I graduated from Billerica Memorial High School on June 4, 1986 with High Honors, and was also inducted into the National Honor Society. I was accepted to the University of Lowell and majored in Music Education. I planned to teach piano after I graduated. I had so much fun in college and really learned a lot. I used to practice piano for several hours each day, and also participated in many recitals and special shows. That path came to a screeching halt in November of 1990 when I had a freak accident involving a very heavy door and my right ring finger. It was the day before I was supposed to perform in a very important recital that I had practiced for months to prepare, and I had two different partners that I was supposed to do piano duets with. Of course there was no way I could play and I was so upset. I remember getting out of my car that morning and immediately running into my friend, Georgianna, in the parking lot. As soon as she said “hi” to me, I burst into tears and showed her my injury. The worst part was telling my partners and teacher what had happened. They were all very understanding. However, I ended up dropping out of college shortly after that because my finger never did heal properly and I just couldn’t play piano like I used to. That was a hard decision to make, but I found a way to move past it.
NEW LOVE AND MARRIAGE
I found love again in February 1992 when I met my now husband, Joe. I was on a dart team with my friend Kelly whom I met in college, and Joe’s best friend, Steve, was also on the team. Joe ended up joining the team, and we just clicked right away. We got an apartment together in September of 1993. Again, my parents were not happy with my decision, but I knew this was the right thing to do. I was determined to prove them wrong, and we did. I was so proud of our little apartment and kept it very clean and neat. We got engaged on January 15, 1994 and began to think about buying a house in the near future. We were married on September 10, 1994 and bought a house in Lowell, MA the following September, where we still reside today. Joe worked in a restaurant and I was in the housecleaning business. I spent a lot of time fixing up the yard, planting flowers, gardening, and doing what I loved. At night I would do counted cross-stitch or other crafts such as painting and drawing. Over the years, I worked for several different cleaning companies, and eventually branched out on my own with my Mom. I really enjoyed the work, but wanted something more—something to help express my creativity. In October 1996, I went to Lowell Academy of Hairstyling and graduated with High Honors 4 months later as a nail technician. It took a few tries to find a salon I really loved working in, but I eventually settled in and even had clients coming to my home. Unfortunately, about one and a half years later, I developed Carpel Tunnel Syndrome in both hands and had to take time off for surgery. The surgery was not effective, so I was forced to stop doing what I loved so much. I still continued doing the housecleaning that I enjoyed so much.
IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH
On February 4, 1996, my life changed forever. I always had trouble with abdominal pain and ovarian cysts and went in for surgery. It was supposed to be a simple procedure and I would go home the same day. I had this procedure, a laparoscopy, done twice before already so I wasn’t too nervous about it. Little did I know that when I woke up, I would be fighting for my life. I knew immediately upon awakening that something was NOT right. I was in so much pain; I couldn’t even lie still in the bed. I ended up spending the night and went home the next day, only to be rushed back in at around 3:30 a.m. the following morning. After a battery of tests, my husband and I were told I had Necrotizing Fasciitis or the Flesh Eating Bacteria disease. I was very groggy from all the drugs, but I remember the doctor telling my husband that it did not look good. If I didn’t have surgery immediately to cut out all the infection, I would die. I was wheeled down the hall and remember my husband sobbing over me, begging me to come back to him. I believe that is what saved my life. I was in so much pain, I wanted to die, but I knew he was waiting for me. Five more surgeries and three weeks later, I finally went home. I was sent home with a PICC I.V. line in my arm and unknowingly addicted to morphine. I was still very sick and received 88 days of home care three times a day by a visiting nurse. I was not a ‘whole’ person anymore—I was missing my entire fascia and most of the fat and muscle from my abdomen. The recovery was long and painful, and I still suffer residual effects, nightmares, and flashbacks, but I believe I lived for a reason. That reason is now almost six years old and as happy as can be.
BECOMING A MOMMY
On September 24, 1999 I gave birth to our first and only child, Cody James. I cannot imagine life without him now. He is my reason for living, my reason for laughing, my reason for crying, my reason for getting up in the morning and he is what brought me to where I am today—an avid scrapbooker. I cannot imagine my life without scrapbooking now. It is such a huge part of me and is one of the things that makes me the happiest I can possibly be. I love knowing that I am preserving memories for my son and for the future, but I also love the art, the creating, the freedom I have to express myself in so many different ways and mixed media. I quickly became addicted to rubberstamping as well, and one of the things I enjoy most of all is making greeting cards. I am constantly thinking of new ideas and new ways of doing things and new techniques to add to my work. I firmly believe that I will spend the rest of my life scrapping, making cards, and adding to my constantly growing collection of supplies. Once my son starts school in just a few months, I plan to spend more time creating and hopefully start a small business for myself.
MY PASSION
One of the things I have enjoyed most about this hobby is being published numerous times. The thing that makes it so exciting is seeing my son’s face when he sees himself in a magazine. He just squeals with excitement every time and that, to me, is more satisfying than any amount of money I could possibly make with this craft. The only problem is, he has been in SO many magazines, that now every time I get a magazine in the mail, he asks, “Mommy, am I in this magazine?” I just love that! And it makes me so happy and so proud that someday he will be able to look back at all these publications and show them to his friends and maybe even his wife and/or children someday. That is something that not many children get the opportunity to experience. I hope he will look at this layout about me someday and enjoy knowing where I came from, where I have been, what I have experienced, and most of all, how much he is loved and how much he means to me.
No products have been added to this project.
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