Memories to Treasure: Honeyhill Elementary School Grads Gather

The Hour Story about the Reunion

Last month there was a most unusual picnic held at Cranbury Park in Norwalk, CT.  It was a 50 year reunion of Honeyhill Elementary School graduates and teachers.  That's right FIFTY year reunion of ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. My husband Vinny was on the committee. 

Former students - some of whom are now retirees themselves gathered with some of the retired teachers from Honeyhill Elementary School.  The former teachers brought everything from homemade salads to baked ziti, meatballs and an impressive variety of delicious picnic foods.  The former students provided hotdogs, hamburgers, condiments, cake and water.  The event was a huge success.  Eighty six people attended.  The DJ played music from the fifties and sixties, there was dancing, laughing and catching up with old and new friends.  What a delightful story to hear about.  Alas it wasn't front page news.

Except for The Hour, the news media forgot to show up.  The Hour had a misprint stating that it was a high school reunion. The Norwalk Mayor came, along with our State Representative Larry Cafero, School Superintendent Susan Marks, and State Senator Bob Duff. The gathering was sweet and endearing.

Ed Farris, Vinny's fifth grade teacher in the golden 1960's attended the picnic along with many other former teachers at Honeyhill. Ed who is79 years old and still substituting in the Norwalk schools, was working at Honeyhill the day they opened and was still there the day it closed.  The City of Norwalk closed the school due to falling student numbers. A Scholarship fund has been created as a result of the warm memories of an era long past.  The members of the reunion committee decided to honor Ed.

The Ed Farris Scholarship has been awarded to a local Norwalk High Scholl Graduate going into the field of teaching.

Sadly, the committee wasn't notified of the event and no one was there to present the student with the certificate.  We do not even know if the recipient knows what the scholarship means to those who contribute to the ongoing fund.  Former students, co-workers, current friends and family members have contributed.  As a result there will be scholarships available in the future.  A formal presentation is being arranged to right this oversight.

As an aside to this event I want to mention that Vinny and I bought a house on St. Mary's Lane in 1980 so our children could experience a similar grade school education that Vinny enjoyed.  By the time our girls were old enough for kindergarten, Honeyhill Elementary School was closed.  The site now houses The  Honeyhill Healthcare Center which I believe is owned by the Norwalk Hospital.  The city gave the property to the hospital despite an offer from the Norwalk YMCA to renovate and rent it from the city and to give it back to us if we decided not to renew a lease in the future.  I am not going to address the politics of that!

I attended the event and discovered that despite our daughters not being able to attend the school that we wanted them to; the girls did have several wonderful elementary school teachers from the Honeyhill Lunch Bunch - that is what a group of former Honeyhill teachers who still gather regularly call themselves. 

Mrs. Dayton taught Melissa and Stephanie in Kindergarten.  Mrs. Jones had them in the First Grade.  Mrs. Fodor taught Stephanie, and Rev. Jeanettte Olmstead-Sawyer taught the girls Science at West Rocks. 

The gift of Norwalk's Honeyhill Elementary School is still giving.  How special is that?

The Best Daily Deals in Southern CT: Three-Course Catered French Meal

The Best Daily Deals in Southern CT: Three-Course Catered French Meal

30 Tips from Diabetes Forecast Magazine

An interview with Tracey Neithercott from Diabetes Forecast Magazine ended up with a photography session in Norwalk.  Andrew Kist is the photographer who met with me at Italia's Restaurant on Main Avenue.  The photo shoot took about 2 hours from start to finish.  The magazine placed a full page picture of yours truly in the April 2011 Issue of Diabetes Forecast.  I post this for your information and to share what I am learning about Diabetes. 
The title of Tracey's article is
Back To Basics: Carb Counting Tips
30 top pointers from real people with diabetes


By Tracey Neithercott

The article has 30 tips that Tracy harvested from several Diabetics who were interviewed for this helpful article.  Please take the time to follow the link and print out a copy for your reference or share a link to this blog with a loved one who may benefit from the information. 
 
The tips she harvested from our 40 minute interview are below, numbers 6, 7, and 9.
 

Back To Basics: Carb Counting Tips



photo by Andrew Kist

 6. Enlist help.
“In the beginning, I needed the team to help me,” says Denise Costabile, 57, who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in April 2010. So when she ate at her favorite Italian restaurant, her husband put the bread on a chair so she wouldn’t be tempted to snatch a slice. “Having his help was key. I needed to surround myself with people who will help me.”

7. Learn from setbacks.
“Last night, I cheated completely, which I never do,” says Costabile. Instead of looking up a food’s carbohydrate content, she guessed. “When I do that, it prompts me to learn that number. I really try to be ready.”

9. Keep it simple.
“When I was first diagnosed, I found things I really love,” says Costabile. “I find comfort in keeping it simple. I have a certain salad dressing on my salad that I like. I stick to it. It’s simpler that way.”

Unsolicited Media Attention

I received some unsolicited media attention in the month of January when a video clip I was in went out the over a few television stations across the country.

Last winter I hired a Lifestyle Coach, Dr. Cynthia Barnett to help me make some changes in my routine. In the process I learned that I have Type 2 Diabetes which affects everything. Over the course of the last ten months since diagnosis, I've learned all kinds of things I did think I'd ever need to know. I remember how frightened I was the first time I tested my BG level after my first visit with the Diabetes Educator. I am not a cryer and I believe I wept. I didn't want to have to stick myself every day.

While I am not happy that I have Type 2 Diabetes. I am grateful for the opportunities this disease affords me. I have a long way to go and I still have a lot to learn. What I learn, I am happy to share what I am learning with others. While needing to exercise more, I chose to walk carrying a camera with me. Time passes quickly when I am absorbed in shooting nature scenes.

In November, Dr. Cynthia shared my name with someone filming a story on people who hire retirement coaches. The story was filmed and aired putting me on the spot to keep blogging and to continue learning about diabetes. I discovered TuDiabetes.org and now have a whole new place to come to learn and share.

Recently I discovered there are many educational videos available through my Netflix account. There are Type 2 Diabetes films, Cooking for Diabetes Shows available and more. The videos range in time and content. From minutes to hours, from cooking shows to medical programs by well know Diabetes Educators and authors. I am happy to find such a wealth of information out there.

A Diabetes Story

I turned to the online community to find out what I need to bring with me to my initial Endocrinologist appointment. My doctors are under the umbrella of one medical center which makes records easy to keep track of. This appointment was a consultation.  Even so, I wanted to be prepared.  I read that Endo's like to look at a record of your blood sugar numbers.  I keep track on a calendar / food log.  To prepare for the upcoming visit, I spent the weeks prior to meet my new team member testing / tracking 2 and 3 times a day.

I am a type 2 diabetic who uses medication, exercise and food plan for controlling my diabetes.  I was told one test a day is enough by my GP and Diabetes Educator suggested I track it twice a day.  I had digressed to the one time a day routine unless I was planning for an evening out or if I felt off.  I took the extra time to follow a.m. and p.m. numbers, with random blood testing before and after meals. The recording showed something I had not realized.  My morning numbers are always the highest numbers of the day unless, I eat carbs after the evening mea. Over the course of the 5 weeks, the averages stayed within target however, the morning numbers were getting higher. I was not doing anything differently.  I was eating right, testing, exercising daily.  I entered the numbers onto a chart and went to my appointment with chart and my monitor in case the doctor wanted to check it's record too. 


Since diagnosis, my medication regime was one 500 mg. tablet of Metformin twice a day.I take my diagnosis seriously. I exercise 30 minutes 5 times a week at least.  I record what I eat and I count my carbs.  I do not want to see complications from diabetes creeping up on me and stealing a single  moment of my life from me.  I have worked hard and done an excellent job of controlling my numbers, and losing weight.  I was told losing weight, watching  carbs, and exercising may eliminate my high BG numbers and make possible a reduction or elimination of medication. My sister and a good friend both were able to go off their medication within a year of their diagnosis.  I aimed to do the same thing.   Despite my "ideal' success story, my new team member prescribed an increase in the Metformin to get lower morning numbers. 

If I were to say I am not disappointed, it would not be true.  I am.  I will adjust to the disappointment in about the same length of time it will take for my stomach to adjust to the increased dosing.  In the mean time, I tell myself that I haven't done anything wrong.  It's not my "fault" and I believe that others will benefit if I speak my truth and let it be known that stuff happens.