December 2005 / January 2006

February / March

April - July

A woman who achieved much as an elementary and special education teacher, who was named “Teacher of the Year” by the Somerville School District.

And because of this experience, she was someone who gave me hope, even when things with my own special education student were not going so well.

But more importantly, my godmother, who bought me my first pair of RED shoes!

"Sam You Made the Pants too Long" ...
A repeat performance we'll never forget and just one of many things we loved about Uncle Jim.


In any discussion of suffering, you must begin with a clear concept of eternity, if suffering is to be put in the proper context.

Eternity is forever – non stop. You can’t encircle it. It is really beyond our limited comprehension.

Pain, on the other hand, can be circled. It is limited by time. And that which is limited by time shrinks in degree when it stands next to eternity.

This is not to say that pain is insignificant to we who are enmeshed in time. It is only to say that a consideration of pain cannot be accurate unless it is seen in the light of eternity.

Reflections of theologian James Michael Crowley, date unknown

August - November

"Crazy Aunt Is"

A loving nickname for a woman I've come to have a lot in common with.

A fellow spinster, a fearless traveller and a woman who makes a life for herself in spite of struggles with mental illness.

As I finish the journey of my son's public school education, I thought that it would be appropriate to honor those ancestors and relatives that have struggled with mental health throughout their lives.

Towards the beginning of this journey, I read a book recommended by a friend. It discussed the impact of ethnicity on family councelling. And while it was written for clinicians, it was very interesting. In the chapter on Irish-Americans, one of the assertions made was that this group has the highest rate of mental illness of any ethnic group in America.

In the same chapter, it also mentioned that women of Irish descent are intelligent, well educated and hard-working. I'm sure it mentioned attributes for men as well, but not being one, those didn't quite stick in the long-term memory.

But for both, family is very important.