Your link to Northwest Indiana. tm
Your link to Northwest Indiana. tm |
|
| [sidebar.htm] |
|
|||
From Our Founder
by Robert J. Wichlinski I enjoy summer vacation time, though it’s sometimes a struggle to remind our kids that daily responsibilities remain for mom and dad… assuredly we are NOT on vacation. They sometimes can’t understand that we are not free to drop everything to accommodate their requests associated with fun and leisure. But hey, they’re kids and soon they’ll be grown and forced to face the realities of the cruel world we have fashioned for them… so we graciously work to satisfy their daily requests and juggle our schedules as best we can. So the return to school has some welcoming attributes for mom and dad. My wife Lynnette has been dashing about to get our kids registered for classes and procure school “necessities” detailed by their teachers in a document sent home with them at the conclusion of their spring semester. I think back and wonder how my mom did it with 10 children. We find 4 kids to be a challenge… mom did it for 10! My memories include family book cover sessions in our kitchen (depending upon the grade, some covers were plastic and some were paper, but every text book was covered to protect it from US), pencil box arrangement and re-arrangement (do I have everything on the teacher’s list? Will a glue stick suffice or does she want good old Elmer’s?), a group visit to Dr. Rendall in Hammond for check-ups (I dreaded when I was up for a scheduled inoculation…ouch!...mumps and measles shots were the worst), a visit to Albert’s shoe store in Calumet City for footwear and new uniforms (seemed like mom was always bummed by the fact that the uniform had changed, eliminating hand-me-down possibilities… we were always fascinated by the required foot measurement prior to shoe selection… how much had my foot grown since our last pilgrimage?), and a stop by the school on the way home to discover who was teaching whom and in what assigned classroom (we were bummed when a new teacher was introduced to the mix…fear of the unknown). I certainly have lasting memories associated with my high school education at Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond, but my memories from grade school at Our Lady of Knock (OLOK) are truly near and dear. As I write, I can smell black board cleaner, ditto sheets, new plastic book covers and chocolate milk. I remember the shine of freshly waxed floors and the smell of the resealed playground and repainted cyclone fence. While we were off playing baseball and exploring the fields that were once the Nau farm, custodians and contractors were preparing for our return. Nuns and lay teachers were conjuring up the lesson plans that would guide our every thought and activity through the school year. I’ve conjured this image in my mind of Sister Cyril Joseph in her long black habit (complete with head gear) at her wood desk in Room 9 assembling a seemingly endless catalog of dittos that represented our 5th grade regiment for the entire fall semester… CJ was prepared and incidentally was the only nun to have taught every male in the Wichlinski tribe… a dubious distinction. As I think back, I can only hope that my children are blessed with lasting memories of their school years. The education one receives is certainly important, but the memories and impressions associated with the experience are priceless. Our world is so much more complicated than when I grew up. Satellite television, cell phones, space travel, and computers have forced a level of sophistication on our children that leaves little room for imagination and appreciation of simple pleasures. Schedules are packed with so many competing interests a parent is truly challenged to carve out time for a family meal, let alone a game of catch or tossing a Frisbee. My personal goal for this semester is to devote myself to making more memories for and with my kids. I think it’s a wise investment. As always, I can be reached via e-mail at b@219.com |
||||
About Us. © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 by
Onsite Computer, LLC. |
