My Supportive Relationships
My Father
(Christopher Hodges)
My dad was very supportive and loving. He was a man who loved his family and adored his kids. He felt his kids were his pride and joy. He supported me in all I did and one thing he absolutely loved was music. So, he bought me a Hammond organ and I began music lessons on that organ at five years old. He loved to hear me play and the music room was right next to the kitchen. In fact, he said he always washed dishes while I practiced so he could hear me because he didn't want me to know he was listening but yet he wanted to hear what and how I did. I remember him hearing that our school was having a talent show and he said if I entered it he would make sure the organ got over to school so I could play. And that is exactly what happened. He had the organ delivered there and I played for the recital at 11 years of age. From that recital, the nuns heard me and told me I needed to play in church. So they got me started in church and at 12 years of age I was the director of music for our church. I did that for 37 years before retiring to work on my doctorate. But what I remember about my dad is that he was always proud of me and whenever I finished playing at one of the Masses, he would come up and squeeze my cheeks and tell me what a great job I did. He beamed with pride for me and I felt excitement inside to know I was making him happy. He was a happy man with a great sense of humor. Today, I have his humor and I play the organ for fun now. But I traveled all over the world because of my talent and thanks to my dad who got me started back when I was five years old. He always made me feel special! This song is dedicated to my dad because he LOVED Notre Dame!
My Mother
(Marietta Hodges)
My mother is turning 90 years old in November of 2012. This picture shows her at Christmas 2011 opening gifts. She is a great woman, very active, and she is someone you can't keep down. She keeps going - in fact I have to pencil in a time when her and I can talk because she is always on the go. I always say that I want to be like her when I am older - still kicking strong.
My mother was never and still is not a very demonstrative person. She was not a nurturer - we never got hugs or kisses from her but we did know she cared. I am sure it is from her own upbringing because her parents were not nurturers either. But I think she learned from my dad as she saw that he was. But it was hard for her. I love my mother but today as I look back, I believe she is OCD. She has some strange little quirps that she does that irritate many but she doesn't care she keeps doing it. I remember that one thing she liked was a clean house (who doesn't). But she went to the extreme with this. Every Friday we had to clean our rooms and then we could go outside to play. If it wasn't done exactly to her liking we got called back in. I remember hating being called back in from playing and it seemed like it was never good enough for her. To this day, I hate cleaning and hire someone to do it for me. I do like a clean house but I don't like to clean it. So she has influenced me that way. My mother was a hard worker. I remember my dad worked days and she worked nights so we rarely go to see her and dad was the main person who raised us. I also remember though, that I loved the weekends because she would make sure we had family time whether it be a Sunday drive or a family dinner. Family was important to her. I remember the trips we took to visit relatives and to just go on several weeks' vacation in the summer. Mom planned those for us - that seemed to be her joy was to take us places. Today her influence on me has shown in my feelings towards house cleaning but more importantly about being family oriented and making sure my kids were able to visit relatives and places around the country so they also will share it with others one day.
My Childhood Friend
(Mary Hopkins)
When I first thought about my friends and who influenced me most, I thought maybe there wasn't any of them who influenced me and then I thought of Mary. Mary lived three doors down from my house and we grew up together, went to school together and shared in our joys and sorrows together. We had the best time and her parents were just like my parents and we got to visit each others' houses and spend the night sometimes. We had great fun! And then when Mary was 10, she was diagnosed with leukemia. At that time, I didn't really understand the disease and my mother tried to help me but the hardest thing for her to tell me was that she would not live long. That was shocking to me! I was not able to play with Mary as much because she was always sick and she wasn't able to come to school much either. I would go visit as much as I could when she felt ok. But what I remember the most and this had the most influence on me was that Mary was always happy. She never saw or felt a negative thing about another person at anytime. She was 11 and felt good so her mother and her decided that she could have a birthday party and she could invite 6 friends. She invited 6 of us from around the neighborhood but who also went to the same school. She was excited for her birthday party and so was I because I knew she was happy. Her big day came and I went to her house and they had their fine china and party favors and balloons all over and a big cake and they were cooking hot dogs on the grill. But after a half an hour, I realized that I was going to be the only one at the party. I felt so bad and I also was ashamed of my friends for not coming. And not telling her they were not coming. You could tell she was disappointed but she never spoke badly about them. She kept saying that they probably had other things to do - but I could see some of them outside playing with other friends. What influenced me the most about this was the fact that Mary never let it be known that she was hurt or disappointed - she kept defending them. Mary died about three weeks later and I felt good that I had at least been with her to celebrate her birthday. But to this day, I always remember Mary and try to emulate her positive attitude. No matter what someone is going through, someone else is always going through something worse. I sure miss those days, Mary, but I know you are much better where you are now!
My Sixth Grade Teacher
(Mrs. Beaudoin)
Mrs. Beaudoin is the teacher who brought me to education today. She was always a fair and just teacher and taught me that it isn't about the content of the lesson but rather the learning of the lesson. And that everyone can learn, we just have to make sure they get the time they need to learn. She was a teacher many years ago and believed that way. To this day, I have remembered this and she has influenced me in this. Today I also believe everyone can learn when given time. And I know that students appreciate it when we are fair and just and consistent. She was truly my inspiration! My only regret is that I was never able to tell her before she died. But I am hoping she now knows that she inspired and influenced me to be the teacher I am today! Thank you, Mrs. Beaudoin!
