I was born in October of 1960, in Passaic, NJ.  I didn’t make it easy.  No way.  I was born breech.  Yep, I started out life by mooning the world.  Mom should have known at that point that I would be trouble.  I spent the first two plus years of my life in the East New York section of Brooklyn, NY.  Mom & Dad lived & worked in NJ and I was raised by my maternal grandmother, and my aunt Dee, who is really more like a sister to me.  We are only ten years apart.  I saw my parents on the weekends.  It was how it had to be.  They needed to work to give me a good home.  I didn’t understand that then but as I grew older I learned to appreciate all they sacrificed for me.

Eventually, we all moved to NJ,  Nana, Dee, & me, into the house Mom & Dad had just finished building.   I was very lucky to have three strong women in my life.   Let me tell you about them.

Nana.  Rose Marie.  A seamstress in New York’s garment district, I credit her for who I am today.  She was a no nonsense woman who told it like it was.  I didn’t get away with anything.  In fact, none of us did!  I tried to pull a fast one, on a day I didn’t want to go to school.  We walked to school, never had to worry that some stranger would take us, and so I walked.  And when I got there, I turned around and walked back home.  I knocked on the front door.  Nana opened the door and asked why I was there.  Now, being four years old, you’re not always smart enough to realize you need an excuse!  I blurted out the first thing I could think of…. “They didn’t have a hanger for my coat”.  I got the raised eye brow and the mmmhmmm and was turned around and told to go back to school.  She closed the door behind her.  Now you may think that sounds cruel, but it wasn’t.  She taught me a lesson.  One…don’t lie, you’ll get caught.  Two, take responsibility for your actions.  She was the most loving, warmhearted human being I’ve ever known and I miss her more & more with every passing day.

My Mom.  An amazing woman, who wanted nothing but the best for her family.  A hard worker, she began her career in a bank, because, she says,” I didn’t want to be the stereotypical secretary or teacher”.  Back then, those were the options for women.  After the bank, she worked for the same company for 42 years, retiring as their VP of Finance.  I am an only child.  I was not spoiled.  I was taught that if I wanted it, I had to earn it.  When I graduated high school, I was told college or get a job.  I chose the workforce, beginning my 20 year career as a pharmacy technician, eventually starting my own successful business.  In between, I went to school at night for computer science.  Mom wouldn’t hear of a student loan and so she fronted me, telling me I better finish what I started.  I graduated with honors, 2^nd in my class.  Her gift to me…the loan was paid in full.  To say I admire this woman’s strength and perseverance would be an understatement.  She’s still a tough cookie but she’s softened over the years, especially were her grandchildren are concerned.

And last, but certainly not least, Aunt Dee.  We never called her that.  She was always Dee Dee, Dee, Denyse, simply because she really was so close in age to me and all of my cousins.  I have always considered her my sister.  She was, and is, there for me more times than I can count.  Always ready to lend a hand, help with a project, do my hair just right, oh yeah, and as she likes to remind me, swing me up on her shoulders and sing “here she comes, Miss America”.  Today, she is battling Multiple Sclerosis.  She is my inspiration as I battle MS’s cousin, Transverse Myelitis.  She’s the proof that you should never give up fighting.  Life hands you battles, you have to be the one to win…

These three women molded me into the confident person I am today.  The no nonsense individual who does not put up with any crap from anyone.  I stand my ground but I am also aware that, at times,  it may be necessary to say I was wrong, and I’m not afraid to do that. To simply say thank you to them is not nearly enough.

….and that is my story….for now.