06/26/2024
Being Blindsided!
I will admit that I am a planner. Actually, I am an over-planner which drives my family crazy. Usually, there is an abundance of texts, emails and conversations when any project is being done. But on April 12, 2024, I was completely blindsided. It is almost impossible to convey how shocked I was to receive the LionHeart Award from Brother Dennis at the reunion. This award is the highest award that Loughlin gives to anyone, and usually not to a “Bishop’s Girl”. I am still piecing things together but this is what I uncovered so far.
Discussions were started quite a while ago. The BMcD Committee all knew and were in on it along with the staff at Bishop Loughlin. In addition, my family knew, including a set of 8 year old very talkative twin granddaughters who frequently facetime with me, and a few friends who I speak to daily. No one said a word. One of them even asked me “when is that reunion again?” Even my standard “purple” attire wasn’t co-operating. I was so tired from decorating the night before, the clothes I took out to wear were royal blue, and we had to leave so early. I figured no one would look at what I wore and chose to wear yellow.
Doing reunion “work” is almost a daily thing with me. I love speaking to alumnae from all years all the time. I recently found out about a “reunion” in Florida which was near us. My husband and I picked up a woman who we had never met, (Roberta Molaro ‘55) and we all went together. It was a great day. It doesn’t matter if you were in the same year or not, Bishop’s girls always enjoy being together.
If you want to know “why” I do this, let me share this small part from the day. Brother Dennis and Andrew Cleary stood on the corner of the school waiting for my family to arrive. Since when can one expect the Principal and VP of Institutional Advancement, to stand outside and direct parking for your family? This is more than a school to all of us. I do it because when Bishops girl turned Loughlin into “co-ed”, women were now given the opportunity to attend a truly up-to-date, state of the art school. Many, many hundreds of girls have benefitted from some type of scholarship provided by the support of BMCD alumni. We do what we do because the schools we serve are the schools we love. And the people in them care about each other deeply. Bishops girls are responsible for doaying over $100,000 in scholarship money.
Josie McKenna is my “go-to” for all things. She is never too busy to return my many, many texts and we are constantly planning. I met my match and it is wonderful. This year she wanted to make the reunion something very special as we were now heading into a new phase of all- years Legacy reunions. Breakfast itself, was amazing, but lunch became a true feast. The omelet station and waffle station pleased even the harshest food critics and I mean my twin granddaughters. There was even a section of plainer fare for those suffering from gluten or other dietary issues. The rest of the options of eggplant, chicken francaise, mashed potatoes and penna vodka were the icing on the cake. Speaking of dessert, there was brownies, cookies and fresh fruit. I even brought a cake for my class because a lot of us are turning 75 this year. We included a photo of Christine Dougher O’Rourke so she could be in our class photo even though she had recently passed away. Mimosa’s and Bellini’s were added to the existing beverage offerings of wines and champagne.
I had been told Josie McKenna (Associate Director of Institutional Advancement) was getting an “award”, so I was expecting HER family to arrive. Where were they? I thought they were going to miss her big moment. What can I do? My ’planning” was going awry. Then I saw my oldest daughter. What is happening here? Brother Dennis was already speaking about how wonderful the recipient of this very prestigious award was and I confess I wasn’t listening. I always listen to “Brother Dennis, a man who never needs cue cards, speaks from the heart and is the heart of the school. Where was Josie’s family and why is my daughter Christina here? She lives in Pa. Then I saw my twin granddaughters and a small light bulb went off. The group continued to grow with my youngest daughter, Kerrin, her husband Matt, my son in law John, two more grandchildren, John and PJ, and my long time friend Dorothy and her husband David ,who had told me they were going to a garage sale that day. I said to myself (still in a daze) oh, they forgot to invite my husband. (dumbest statement ever). When last I saw him, he was in his pajamas and now he was standing behind me with a huge bouquet of flowers.
I remember going up to accept the award, but not much else. I forgot to thank Brother Dennis and Andrew, and my closest buddy and partner in all things regarding, Josie McKenna. I think I texted her at least 20 times the day before. I drove her crazy about the seating and extra places. She finally sent me a copy of the attendee list and had put all her family members on it. Bishop Loughlin was our brother school, but it is now the school who makes not just our reunions possible, but keeps our legacy alive. They are the school who maintains a data base of all our alumnae alive as well as those who passed. They house all our memorabilia. Without them, Bishop McDonnell would have ceased to be relevant. Now the girls of Bishop Loughlin know who Bishop’s girls are. I know they will always remember the women who made it possible for them to attend an amazing school and receive the best education possible.
My Class (1967) always attends the reunions. Each year, we always have a couple of tables because we love to be together. This year, their bus broke down, but in true Bishop’s fashion, they figured it out and drove 3 cars of classmates, (including a few girls from other years) to the school. They are the reason I began my journey with Bishop Loughlin in 2007. They are the reason I make thousands of calls each year. My class brings me so much joy and make all the work I do worthwhile. It is heartwarming when you see a graduate from 1945 attending her 79th anniversary. I am blessed to have a family who always supports me and make sure to never to schedule my grandchildren’s party the day of the reunion. My husband is willing to celebrate out anniversary a day after or a week after so I can focus on the reunion. I am fortunate to have discovered my “niche” at Bishop Loughlin and it nice to be appreciated. The day after, I received an email from Andrew, it said “GOTCHA!” You certainly did. It was a day I will treasure forever.
