Big Little Moments - Memory Gems

That's me on the left - Holy Childhood High School (late 1980's)

After the battle, the reward.

My father-in-law (FIL) calls them memory gems. They are the lines you heard in school. Little nuggets of wisdom you learned when you were too young, only they didn't quite make sense, until now, in adulthood. Memory gems...



My sister and I attended an all girls Catholic high school in Jamaica. It was called Holy Childhood, and it was run by Sister Stephanie and Sister Humiliana.  Just picture nuns in full uniform...with their heads covered, wearing a long back dress.  Sister Humiliana was blind, but that didn't stop her from walking at high speeds, her long black tunic trailing behind her, as her cane, thwack thwack, called you to attention, as it hit the concrete ground.  I don't know how she did it, walking so quickly and confidently when she couldn't even see. For a blind nun, she certainly had a presence, and I think there was not one student who wasn't intimidated by her.  I certainly was.

We had to wear uniforms every day, and our headmistress had some strict rules. Our skirts had to be a certain length (to our knees, but now students have to wear them to their ankles!), our shoes and socks had to be black, we could wear no jewelry except a watch, and we couldn't have long fingernails. Every morning, every morning, we would all line up to be inspected to make sure we all were adhering to the strict uniform policy. You could feel the tension in the air. We had mass quite often too. To this day, I still remember all the words to Hail Mary.

And it was at Holy Childhood where I learned my high school's motto...after the battle, the reward. Throughout the years, I've always found myself repeating these words in my mind, as a silent mantra...when I graduated high school in Windsor, Connecticut, and later when I earned a college and then graduate degree.  When I became a mother and was overwhelmed by motherhood and working full-time. When I struggled through the school year, as a teacher, and wondered if my kids were really getting it.  After the battle, the reward.  Those simple words.  Always kept me going when obstacles and fear threatened to steal my joy and block my goals.

All these years, I'd forgotten where I first heard those words. I only remembered this week where I learned them.

Holy Childhood High School.

Memory gems.

After the battle, the reward.