Also see OTHER SIDE OF BUMPS below.
Invariably the outsider by moving around a lot: Arlington, VA; Philadelphia, PA; Denver, NM; Arlington, VA; Elmhurst, IL; Stokesdale/Winston-Salem [three different houses], Rogers Forge, MD; Annandale, VA., got me thru high school.
Attended a dozen public schools, including one summer school, and four different high schools in four different states before college.
Speach lessons in VA followed by speech lessons in IL so I could pronounce “th” and “r” properly.
Stuttered at least through undergrad graduation where I was teased by a jock and his girlfriend told him to stop..graduation day from Virginia Tech.
Third grade teacher told my mother I would not make it out of high school. Fourth grade teacher said I was good in art and the art helped me start generating a degree of self-confidence.
Move from IL to NC part way into eight grade and was ridiculed by the students since I was coming from the north, spoke with an accent AND it was the first year of school integration in Winston-Salem. They didn’t know that the city I had left, Elmhurst, IL, had been red lined.
My social activities in late 10th grade were interrupted by losing part of my left foot to a lawn mower which resulted in my being on crutches for 14 weeks.
Due to beginning school in NM, I was ahead by a year in class. Therefore, in VA, while my classmates were taking behind the wheel driver training, I was taking the book training.
Took senior high school English fifth and six periods sitting in the same desk with the same teacher so I could pass English and graduate.
Delivered my first child, Dan, at home because the doctor made a mistake and sent us home and his mother went through transition on the way back from the hospital. He was 9 lb, 1 3/4 oz, when we got back to the hospital. My first thought is there was no way to stop what was happening, so I grabbed him by the legs and, holding him feet up, stroked his back. Since he didn’t cry when I laid him down, I put my finger in his mouth, and he choked so I knew he was breathing.
At age 35 observed that I have had mild dyslexia. Observed this when the person testing one of my sons described how the test looked at 1) how information comes in, 2) how information is processed and 3) how information is played back, both visually and audibly.
I was let go twice, the first time from Oak Ridge National Laboratory when funding was cut. I was given many weeks to be at work while also looking for other employment. I was the first one to have found a job and didn’t have time to collect unemployment insurance. The second time was from B&W on June 4, 1993. I was given less than two hours to pack up, less than 6 months from my 50th birthday, just short of the 20 years invested. A derecho came through that afternoon taking down a third of my trees, I had refinanced the house just the day before so had to decide whether to keep that or not. Also, I was due to fly to France the next day for a self-guided bicycling trip, which I cancelled the half dozen reservations. And in the following four weeks, I found out that a friend had been murdered by a jealous ex-husband and the divorce I thought at that time I didn’t want was finalized. Later I saw the present she had given me in proceeding with the divorce. I did get accepted to graduate school in counseling but decided to continue pursuing my established professional quality background. Had my 50th birthday alone.
Two cancers, prostate cancer that began in 2016, which the thought of an painful death really scared me and beginning in 2020 the “living death” lymphoma that went on for three years before being diagnosed.
OTHER SIDE OF BUMPS
GOOD/REALLY GREAT STUFF FROM BUMPS:
Outsider and four different high schools….seeing more “rounded” view of people, seeing the aspect of wide variations within a group compared to differences between groups, i.e. range of variation within a gender vs between the genders.
Speach lessons and stuttering…understanding that first impressions don’t necessarily provide all the information about a person. Better appreciate differences. Another example of how neuroplasticity does work.
Not make it out of high school…learned the lesson of being aware of the downside of self-fulling philosophy can be overcome.
Loosing part of my left foot…failed the draft when the Vietnam war was raging. Military was not a good fit for my curious, wandering personality.
Delivering my son…. showed myself I could handle emergencies. What an experience!! and made assisting in the second delivery easier.
Mild dyslexia…. better appreciated how people can get down on themselves. Also, I can be a better listener.
Pack up less just shy of 50….. appreciated that when it seemed I had lost “everything”, I still had my health and could move forward with that.
A divorce I thought at the time I didn’t want…. I was free to get into a truly wonderful and fulfilling relationship with Cynthia.
Two cancers…. the first scared me to make some truly difficult lifestyle changes and the second has taught me of the possibility of “worrying myself to death” and how to avoid that by better understanding the mind-body relation. This has led to a richer and more meaningful life with gratitude.