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		WRITE 2 THE HEART Stories that are aimed "Write 2 the Heart" February 17, 2004 Cheryl Speir, Editor, moderator@write2theheart.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to your latest issue of "Write 2 the Heart." You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription or a friend generously forwarded their copy to you. ------------------------------------------------------------ Did you ever get a surprise by email? I received an unexpected one last year and it helped to reestablish some wonderful friendships from my teen years. ------------------------------------------------------------ All new subscribers will receive a free downloadable copy of the e-cookbook, “Write 2 the Heart of the Chocolate Lover.” To subscribe send a blank e-mail to: subscribe@write2theheart.com ------------------------------------------------------------- Healing By Email By Cheryl Speir ------------------------------------------------------------ Sitting down at my computer, I opened my email program. I couldn't help but sigh when I saw that my filter had flagged 67 messages as possible spam. My finger hovered over the delete button, when a subject line jumped out at me: "You have received a message from James" it declared. The sender was an online site that advertises getting people together. I had signed up years ago and forgot about it. Periodically the site emails me updates and encourages me to upgrade my status. This is an unusual way to get me to open their email I thought, as My finger got closer to the button. They must have peeked and found that lately I was deleting their messages without looking. My hand stopped. What if there really is a message? OK, I'm going to open it, but I know I'm going to end up feeling foolish. I opened the email and found I had to go to their site. Once there, I had to login. Goodness, it had been so long I had to search my brain trying to remember my password. Finally I was in. There really was a message. "Are you the Cheryl Browder who lived in the Masonic Home For Children in Alexandria, Louisiana? Do you have brothers named Wade and Alan? If so, I lived there at the same time 30 years ago. I can't believe I found you!" the message read. I was stunned! This was an episode of my life I didn't talk much about. I didn't try to hide it -- I just had mixed emotions. The Home accepted children whose parents were going through financial or physical hardships. Whole families of children would be admitted, and then, broken up according to age and gender. For nearly two years, I hardly ever saw my 5 younger siblings. We were only allowed to watch television on weekends, which left me at a great disadvantage in my Social Studies current events discussions. We received an allowance but were never able to go anywhere to spend it. Every day the teen girls had to work in the kitchen taking turns preparing meals for over 60 people and cleaning up afterwards. We attended public school but were not able to take part in after school activities. The mothers of the boys we went to school with wouldn't allow their sons to date us because we lived in an institution and were looked upon as "bad" girls. Then there was the horror of one of my younger siblings being abused. The housemother was promptly dismissed, but it left us feeling helpless and at the mercy of a cruel world. For years I had thrown the memories to the back of my mind, never allowing myself to dwell on them. As I read James' message, his excitement jumped out at me. Instead of the negative emotions coming forth, flashes of other memories came forward. I remembered all the teen girls standing at the sinks and dishwasher, laughing, joking, and singing the popular songs of the early seventies. Getting together at night we rolled each other's hair. I remembered watching Anna practicing dance steps in the hallway and my sneaking out with Janet to climb on the roof to watch a fireworks display going on down the street. I shared secrets and dreams with Kathy and listened as Emma read poetry or short passages out loud. There were the times the teen boys brought me tiny baby rabbits they had found while mowing. Shyly they would whisper, "I thought you could take care of this until it was old enough to take care of itself." Above all, I thought of the time we girls secretly pierced our ears ourselves while our housemother slept. The memories came faster and faster. Suddenly, I am filled with a longing to reach out and connect with someone who was part of my extended family from that time. I hit the reply button and write, "Yes James, I am Cheryl Browder. I am so happy to hear from you." And I meant it with all my heart. Cheryl Speir moderator@write2theheart.com You are encouraged to write to the authors to let them know what you think of their story, just remember to remove the space before and after the @ symbol. The space is placed in the address to protect our writers from viruses and email harvesting programs. Have a comment on today's story? Send it to: moderator@write2theheart.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- Since the email from James, I have been in touch with several of the “boys and girls” from that period of my life. James, Tanya, Kathy, and I exchange emails often. -------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Military Prayer Reminder --------------------------------------------------------------- As you read over this list of names, please take that moment to pray for these young people and their families: Chris Speir Tim Speir Alan Thaddeaus Howard Todd Holland Graham William Julie Sagel Jessie Marshal Thompson Jason Eric Hernandez Kristin Danielson Ken Prieur Ryan Jonathan P. Wells Larry Miele Please continue to pray for our country, our leaders, and our troops at this time. If you have loved ones in the military, or who are being called to go overseas, send their names (first and last or first only) to be included in our prayer reminder. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2004 Write 2 the Heart Nothing may be reproduced or published without the written permission of the individual author or copyright owner. All rights belong to the authors.