Suzanne's Mom's Blog

When I was 14, I went to the big city every week to live with my aunt’s family and attend school with a younger cousin.

On winter Mondays I arose in the dark. My mother drove me to the bus station, where I got on a bus with my big suitcase and my book bag — and for a while, a clarinet.

When I disembarked at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, I took a cab to school, and later in the day, I lugged the whole kit ‘n’ kaboodle on a city bus to my aunt’s apartment. That first year there were three other kids in the apartment, with another away at school.

This past Monday, I arose in the dark, put my bags in the car, and drove about the same distance as the bus ride I took Mondays at age 14 to a new job in Providence. I’m staying a couple nights a week with Suzanne’s family, which includes two children under 4. Altogether, it’s an adventure with resonance.

So far, I have only two photos to share: one of a 9/11 tile mural that every man woman and child in Providence seems to have worked on, and one of people ice skating in Kennedy Plaza. I hope to have lots more pictures, especially when I can take my walks outdoors. So far it has been too cold, and I have just walked in the mall, where the sights are not, shall we say, photogenic. I’ve been enjoying the new job and also answering questions from folks at the old job. Having handled a biggish transition when I was 14 makes the current transition feel familiar and rather comfortable.