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Living a Good Life

In our women's health class we interviewed an eighty-seven year old woman by the name of Mrs. H. She grew up in Nebraska with her two brothers and father, seeing as how her mother passed away when Mrs. H was only six years old. She attended college for two years in her hometown of Nebraska, where she received a teaching degree. Although she never utilized her teaching degree, she provided valuable service to humankind by supplying materials to the Navy at a depot in San Francisco during WWII. It is here that she discovered her future husband who was a participant in the war. They later married and had a beautiful daughter who is now forty-nine years old with two daughters of her own.

Now living at Rossmore in Walnut Creek, Mrs. H, who has been widowed for twenty-seven years, still forms quality relationships with the people around her. On the 6th of December we had the pleasure of speaking with Mrs. H who so kindly ventured from her home to Carondelet to talk of her experiences as a woman. When we asked Mrs. H about her view of women in today's society in contrast to the society in which she grew up, she felt that women today have become consumed with the material things that money can buy, rather than the quality moments that can be spent with family.

As a teenager Mrs. H said that she was a smart-mouthed child who loved to give her father a run for his money. Mrs. H recalls that there was no television when she grew up, so there was not as much of an influence on women from the media as there is today. In her opinion, women seemed to be respected and treated as equals. She believed that women were better off watching their children because, at that time, women looked forward to getting married and having children. It was not a chore, but rather a privilege. If a man was in a higher position with better pay, she did not look down on it because men had to work in order to support their families.

Throughout the interview, Mrs. H made frequent comments about her pride in her decision to never touch a cigarette. This is especially important to her because many of her friends that smoked died as a result of that choice. Her good health is a positive result of her choice.

Interviewing Mrs. H was a great pleasure for us. It is rare in a high school career to have the opportunity to speak with our elders in such an in-depth manner. It was comforting for us to see Mrs. H with such a vivid recollection of her past. When we get to be her age we hope that we can have as good a memory as she. We hope that Mrs. H enjoyed our company as much as we enjoyed hers. She taught us how to see a different perspective on life. We hope that we will be blessed to speak with Mrs. H again in the future.