I grew up in the Midwest, and have the values of a Midwesterner. My father's family are related distantly to the Kennedys and the Fitzgeralds, though not the Boston branch. My great-great grandfather, Patrick Kennedy, was a haberdasher in New York City. His son, my great-grandfather, James, was a Marine in the Civil War. He is said to have swum the St. Lawrence River from New York state to Canada to court my great-grandmother, Mary Rose Fitzgerald.
My mother's family dates back to pre-Revolutionary days. My grandmother was a Sumner, and the Sumner family were active in the revolution and later, in abolition of slavery. Again, the relationship is quite distant.
I have raised four children to productive adulthood. I have taught basic skills to American soldiers who fell through the cracks of the American education system. I am a pretty good cook, and love to knit sweaters for my family. I did the Martha Stewart thing before she got to be famous, because I had to be frugal but wanted my kids to have a better childhood than I did. My childhood was really sad because of my dad's alcoholism, my mother's deep depression, and my brother's mental illness. My two sisters and I were victims at my brother's hands, but no one knew what to do about it. My younger sister still has not overcome her trauma, but my older sister and I have. All these things make me a compassionate, sensitive but intelligent woman.
I believe our country can be great. We may be at a crossroads now, but everything will be all right if we stop acting on our fears. Everything is in God's hands, but we have to carry out the will of God. I daresay that both branches of my family would agree with that statement.
First i'd like to thank you for taking time out to talk to me...My son Leo, passed away on Dec. 8th 2008. He was in a one person motorcycle accident in Wyoming.He was such a awesome,extremely intelligent, funny 27 year old man. He had beem married for 5 yrs. Was working pipeline up in Wyoming for the last two years he traveled the united states with his wife and finally came to rest in Evanston, Wyoming..He was excelling at his job (he was a fast learner & very smart)He was already a boss and doing so well in his life.good job, making very good money, happy with his choices he was making. My son had gotten upset with me two years ago & refused to talk to me..I did finally talk to him THanksgiving when he was at his dads in Arkansas.I was so excited to hear his voice and also that i didn't hear any anomosity towards me at all.I told him how proud i was of him & i loved him so much. I can still hear him say, "I love you mama".I miss you!!! i do Thank GOD we talked that day, cuz Dec. 5th he had his accident!I would of died the day he did if i didn't know he still loved me.(He had told me the day he stopped talking to me, I was dead to him & he didn't need me) So that phone conversation we had in Nov. helped me be strong when the Dr came in the hospital room to tell us Leo would never wake up oe breathe on his own..They went on to tell us we needed to be Leo's voice & make a decision he would make for himself if he could. His Wife, his father both said they wouldn't make that decision. So me the one tperson that brought him into this world had to be the one to tell them to take him off the respirator. I had to be the one to let my son DIE!!!!! i didn't want to but i kneww Leo wouldn't want to lay in a nursing home and never be able to do anything for himself...So i said to take away the support!! Then he was gone..I did make him an organ donor, someone recieved his corneas two days later, two people recieved his kidneys and someone also got his liver..Those are good feelings for me that Leo helped make someone else not go thru the pain & confusion we had to deal with...But i struggle with my choice about taking him off the respirator so i ended his life that day...Miracles happen, people wake up from comas people end doing things dr say they'll never do again...Because someone choose not to take Dr's advice & i took there advice so Leo didn't have any more chances when i signed those papers :( So i'm still grieving over his death & maybe my stupidity on not waiting longer after his accident. Maybe he was gonna be a miracle...He was my 1st born & such a wonderful lil boy, he was always hugging me & telling me i was pretty and he loved me..when he grew up we had a couple fallin outs.....But i loved him so much & i hope he really in his heart knew that, and knew i did what i thought he'd of wanted me to do that awful dreadful day!!!Ok i'm really crying again so hard i'm probably not making much sense so thank you again for kindness & prayers.....
peggylee81712:43 AM