Identity

It's in a bit of a crisis, my identity. For almost twenty years I hoped to live on the Island. Then for fifteen years, I was a year round resident. For health and financial reasons I had to leave it all behind. It's taken months for me to get this far. Until now it was hard to look at a picture, read an article, or even talk to an old friend on the Island without lots of tears. I know it's not perfect there, but it's where I want to be.

The point of this blog is to help me explain who I am and have been to some of my current co-workers and acquaintances. And to help me reconcile the two lives---that one, and the one I'm living today.

Here I'm just another region rat in greater Chicagoland. I'm working in the school system I attended as a child. My boss has multiple college degrees and a Masters. Yet she was a Senior in High School here when I was a freshman. There are many other alumni around here. Or relatives of former classmates

On the Island, people knew ME. When it came to my blood family, they almost seemed non-existent. Few visits over the years offered little clue to the vast family I belonged to down here. Although most have died or moved away, nearly everyone I meet from the area recognizes my last name. And knew one of my cousins or siblings. When I meet someone here, my name suddenly becomes part of my identity in a way I never understood. I gave up my maiden name when I was very young. I took it back when I moved to Mackinac.

I tell everyone I meet that I worked as an EMT for many years. None understand how much that was part of my identity, how much I miss it too. I don't have many pics oof me in EMS mode. I used to work hard to stay out of pics.
i remember when we took this one---to show the new training tools from the M I M C grant. And as Mark pointed out later, not one of us in our uniform shirts or wearing protective gloves. Grin. I miss Mark.

Here I am currently in a situation where I must keep my quirky side under wraps. I'm not kidding. And I have just barely been quirky, just barely showed a small teeny bit of me.....but already it's been too much. I've been told...........well I'll talk about that another time. Meanwhile,

I'm remembering some of those wacky plays, like "Metaphasia" with C.K. and P. M. at my side.

Occasional nights of drinking and good times, like this one with J. and I at the Grand. All those 'Euchre' nights, and even those volleyball games years ago.


Yes, my glasses have some rose coloring thank you. But there's a lot of 'you don't know what you've got till it's gone' in there too. I took for granted that I would always be there. My bad!