jessesgirl6906

random blurbs

2007-08-30T03:02:29Z

OK, so i suddenly went from having barely any MySpace friends to like 70 something! Thanks to Facebook.

What a week its been, the past few weeks have been emotional for me, seeing all my friends leave for college, and me being left behind. Ever since i was a little girl i've dreamed of going to Notre Dame (the local one), and then they closed, and so did my other dream school, Mount Saint Mary's in Hooksett. WTH? So i had to start my search all over again, and topped my list with Magdalene (Warner) which doesn't really offer majors, Rivier in Nashua, and Franciscan in Ohio... that quickly desinergated once my dad died, because i knew going to that college was way out of reach and i wanted to stay close to home... then i started feeling called towards religious life, and was THINKING about it, that word will come into play later, and i tell my mom and my family that i was THINKING about it, and they were happy. After HS graduation, i start thinking about college possibilities, since my dream career of being a HS/MS English Lit. teacher is still alive and well, i knew i needed to pursue that first. So now my mom does not want any part in my college education, and i have to pay it by myself, which REALLY narrows my options down. She thought by me saying i was THINKING about it, i automatically was going in and leaving the house within a few weeks of graduation.

On top of all that, we have my nephew 24/7 except Saturdays, which is fine because i'm beginning to enjoy having him around, expecially after talking to Fr. Marc about having him baptized, since he lives with us technially it is our choice. Which is a good answer. So i'll keep you updated on that subject.

Then i go to church one day during the week, and a family that goes to see my grandmother every day, comes up to me and goes "Do you know your grandmother is in the hosptial and will have her leg amputated tomorrow morning?" HELLO!!! AM I INVISIBLE!!!! WHY DOESN'T ANYONE ON MY DAD'S SIDE OF THE FAMILY TALK TO ME ANYMORE, WHAT THE HECK DID I DO!?!?!?! I almost walked out of church crying, but didn't, instead my friend Jackie came in and we talked about it afterwards.

But on the bright side... My committee for the Breast Cancer Awareness weekend is getting extremely big, we have 7 members including me, 1 is out of state but she will be submitting her ideas and thoughts through e mail and i will read hers at the next meeting. If anyone's interested in finding out what this is about, just let me know, the more help the better it'll be!

I'm done for now,

Mandy

Missing You

2007-07-15T05:29:28Z

I never thought it being your second birthday without you, it would hit me so hard. but tonight, with dedicating our gig to you this morning, singing your song, well it's not really your song, but i dubbed it yours as it was the only song from your funeral i could understand. Reading at 4:00... talking with sammie, who will soon be loosing a loved one, made me think how much of an orphan it feels to not have a father figure around. Though you never really were there for me, deep down somewhere you must have cared. Or else you wouldn't have saved all the money left in your life incurance policy and put it in savings to build up to close to 5000 for me to continue my education and fulfill my dream as a High School English teacher.
I've been thinking about you alot since the whole St. Patrick's thing came about, and expecially on the days leading to its closing. i felt your presense there the day of the 9th, when i played at the all day wake, you were there and ddin't leave my side.
I miss you dad,
Happy Birthday!
Mandy

Ascension Troubles

2007-06-14T14:36:59Z

Ascension Troubles

It’s Ascension Thursday already, before you know it, it’ll be Pentecost, one of my favorite religious days. I wonder who I’m going to read with at the 7:00 mass tonight.
Mandy, you’re head lector you ding bat! You can pick whoever you want to read with you!
Good Point. Katie Mosher was there last night so she probably won’t be there. Arlene Dupuis was serving last night, so it won’t be her either, and Bob Case would rather die than read with me.
Here’s a brilliant idea, how about you wait and see who’s there and take it from there?
Wow, someone’s feisty tonight. But it’s still a good idea.
It’s 6:45 and no one is here yet. Well… John is, but his wife is due any day now and I don’t want to take him away from her in case something happens…Ray Roux just came in, but he’s in shorts.
Wait a little while longer before putting the books out.
Now it’s 6:55 and there is still no one, I’ll wait like two more minutes, until Ray says to put the books out.
“Well Mandy, looks like you’re the only one.” Ray said as he came back from searching for Eucharistic Ministers.
Great, I’m the only lector and I have no fricken clue how to say that word in he first reading!Just take a guess. They won’t know either! Go for it! The Holy Spirit is with you on this one!

“…The Word of the Lord.”
See, it wasn’t that bad, and you actually got it right too! Nice Job!
Mass proceeded pretty normal, very small crowd, so small my voice was echoing throughout the church. It was like a Lenten weekday crowd. The 5:30 was balcony room only, so I wasn’t surprised when the 7:00 was dwindled down to no one. But I could see Sue out there in the crowd, and that made me more confident.
“Please join us in our closing song, number 9 in your green books, Lord I Lift Your Name On High.”
My gosh, talk about taking the easy way out you cheap skakes! Did you not hear the words of the second reading; was I not loud enough for you to get the message? The line said “You shall be clothed with power from on high, and you shall be my witnesses, until the holy spirit comes to you.” That is the line of the song “You shall be clothed with power.”

A Relationship For the Books (Short Story)

2007-06-09T00:56:27Z

A Relationship For The Books

It was a Friday morning and Linda was just starting her 12-hour shift as a taxi driver. A lot of people think 12 hours in a taxi cab has to be boring, but she actually doesn’t mind that much because she loves driving and she gets more money in tips. Her first couple of drives were the normal grocery store pick-up and drop-offs with the occasional doctor appointment. It was actually quite slow considering it was a Friday, but she was sure it would pick up later so she enjoyed the slowness of the day. Soon it was lunchtime, but she didn’t know where she wanted to go.
“Well, I do have to go home and grab some clothes for Mandy’s surprise birthday party tonight, so I’ll go home and do that first,” she said.
So she went into her house and went to her formal closet, since it was a dance type party and she wanted to look unusually formal. Linda was not one for dresses except for important occasions. So she proceeded to look through her closet. When she thought she’d found something she liked, she took it out and held it against her and looked in front of her closet mirror.
“Nope, too short.”
Next she took out a long red dress with silver sparkles. Last time she’d worn this was to a wedding she sang at back in June.
“Everyone loved it when I wore this one, they said red was my color,” she said out-loud as she placed it in her travel bag.
Then she found her red sandal heels, and found complimenting jewelry and make-up and placed them in the other compartments of her travel bag.
“Geez, that took less time than I thought it would, I still have over an hour for lunch!” Linda said as she looked at her watch, “now for the real reason I’m out, LUNCH!”
While Lind was trying to figure out where to go for lunch, it dawned on her that she was supposed to bring someone with her to the dance tonight, and she did not have a date.
“I don’t think they’re going to mind if I don’t come with anyone, but I should probably at least make the attempt to invite someone,” she said.
So she took out her male address book and started flipping through the pages, stopping to dial numbers of possible dates. A few of them answered but already had plans; some said they didn’t want to go. She finished calling and still had about an hour left, and being that it was so slow she could take a longer lunch than normal.
“You know, Pizza Hut sounds good, I think I’ll have it delivered too,” Linda finally decided.
While she was waiting for the pizza, she sat down to read the daily paper. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
“Now who could that possibly be?” she said, “I didn’t order anything, and all my friends know I’m working, and they’d call my cell phone first.”… As she walked to the door.
She opened the door to find an encyclopedia door salesman.
“Hello, my name is Bobby and I was wondering if you’d like to…”
Linda was half listening to what this Bobby dude was saying, as she found him so handsome that she was too busy looking at him.
Linda, what the heck are you thinking? He’s a door-to-door guy that you just met; you can’t invite him to Mandy’s party without even knowing him!
“Excuse me, miss? Are you still listening?” Bobby said, waving his hand in front of Linda’s face to grab her attention.
“Huh? Oh, sorry, I was sidetracked… Won’t you please come in? Are you hungry? I just ordered a pizza and don’t think I’ll finish it all by myself.”
“Why certainly, I’d love some.” Bobby responded with a smile.
So they sat down at the dinner table together to eat the pizza. While they were eating, they started general conversation to learn more about each other.
“I’m so glad the Red Sox swept the Yankees last week,” Bobby said.
“Yes, that was a pretty pathetic three days for those Yankees, they really showed how bad they were,” Linda agreed.
Well, he’s a Red Sox fan, and he’s also a Ste. Marie’s Parishioner, that’s two pluses on your side, go for three, ask him to the party!“Hey Bobby…” Linda began… “ I know all you came here to do was sell a set of boring encyclopedias, and we just met and all… but I have a surprise birthday party to go to tonight at the Executive Court Yard and was wondering if you’d like to be my date for the evening?”

Bobby was lost for words at first, and then managed to say he’d love to.
“Great, the party starts at 7PM, I’m guessing that’s when Mandy is expected to arrive, and I want to get a good seat near the door to watch her come in, so how about I pick you up for 6:15?” Linda said, with excitement.
“Oh no, please allow me the pleasure of picking YOU up, after all, the man usually picks up his date,” Bobby said with a smile. “Is this a formal party?”
“Yes, it is. There’s dancing as well.” Linda answered.
“Alright!” Bobby screeched! “I haven’t been dancing since my wife passed away last year, I’ll see you back here at promptly 6:15.”
And with that, Bobby skipped out the door, and Linda watched as Bobby bounced down the driveway.
“Well, I made someone happy, now it’s time to go back to work,” Linda said to herself as she went back to the taxicab. Even after that her next call didn’t come in for another hour and a half. So she took the free time to visit people she hadn’t seen in a while and called people on her cell phone to tell them about her new beau that she had met randomly at her doorstep.
Finally a call came in for her to go get someone at a grocery store. So she hung up her cell phone and drove the grocery store customer to her house and helped unload groceries. Since she had no other people waiting she might as well make use of her time.
Finally, it was 5:30 and Linda was allowed to park the cab for the night and go home to get ready. She hadn’t planned on going with anyone so she had her dress and stuff in a duffle bag to get dressed before she left the station. But now Bobby was going with her and thankfully her replacement got there early, so she grabbed her duffle bag and threw it into her Toyota Matrix and drove herself home to get ready. She was so excited. She was done getting ready by 6:05 and had 10 minutes to wait for Bobby. She never even asked what kind of car he had, but she was sure it was better than her dented Toyota.
“Gosh, I hope Bobby likes my outfit,” Linda said as she twirled around in her pretty red dress.
Just then the doorbell rang and she knew it had to be Bobby.
“He’s early!” Linda shouted.
“She ran to the door to answer it and couldn’t wait to see Bobby all dressed up. When she answered the door, she was still not prepared for what she saw. There was Bobby, tall, and extremely handsome, in a very formal black tux with a rose corsage on his coat. And a matching one in a box for Linda. He took her hand and led her out with a smile to their waiting car…
He owns a Lexus! Holy crap, enjoy this night and do everything in your power to keep this man!
So they enjoyed the ride to the restaurant and were one of the first people there, getting a perfect spot in the room. When Many walked in, she was totally surprised. The DJ was awesome and played anything you wanted done. After they sang Happy Birthday to Mandy and had food, Linda went up to the DJ to see if they had “In The Mood,” which was an old swing dance song that, through conversations, Bobby had mentioned, was his wife’s favorite song to dance to. He did have it, and Bobby and Linda danced the night away, and the rest, as they say, was history. Maybe the next time an encyclopedia set was printed, they’d be in it.

Today's Question (Mosaic)

2007-05-30T22:57:47Z

Today’s Question

Yelling, screaming… hitting and smacking. My life

Thoughts reeling through my head. Live…die, which to choose?

There are so many ways I could do this.

Knives, pills, ropes… jump, roadways and freight trains.

Dreams…shattered. Life…ruined. Relationship…shot down.

Dreams shattered forever. College and career, marriage and children…gone.

Bleeding and dying, I’m finally going to a place where I no longer hurt.

No more crying and no more tears. Fear…oppression…gone. Replaced with the crown of forgiveness.

But wait… family and friends, teachers, co-workers…shocked, saddened, shattered.

Selfish…yes, quite at this point. Would I really deserve that crown of forgiveness? Have I really been forgiven?

Friends… Rose, Sue, and Marlena and Colleen… Crying, uncontrollable. Devastated.

Family… Mom, Sue…Carol, Dennis, Tyler… John, Cheryl…Confused. Why did she do this? What was she thinking? What hurt her so bad?

Teachers… surprised, shocked, angry… Mrs. Langer, Mrs. Stratton, Francoeur, Tafe, Flurey… such potential to make a difference in the world, she made a difference in ours.

Co-workers…lost. No more jokes, or movie nights… no more laughs when they were needed and no more “not on my shift” lines. Gone forever.

Enemies… Aubrey and Bill, Mrs. Adams… will not miss her at all, thank gosh she’s gone, we won’t miss her, she wouldn’t mount to anything anyways.

To live… or not to live, that is the question at hand.

Lenten Argument

2007-05-24T22:52:46Z

Lenten argument

Well, we’re in lent again.I am so excited to read at the 7PM mass tonight for Ash Wednesday. I’m going to get there extra early to make sure I’m guaranteed a spot.

Excuse me, this is your mind speaking, I’m functioning on barely 4 hours of sleep here, and you expect me to be able to function properly to read without a nap?

Well… Patrick is sleeping, so I think I’m going to go lay down and take a snooze until 5. That should be sufficient enough.

Mandy, there’s something bothering Sue… call her now.

Call Sue, yeah I need to call Sue… maybe later I’m sleeping.

CALL HER!

Wow, you’re awfully demanding this afternoon aren’t we? Zzzz….

Well at least I slept for 15 minutes; I can’t sleep anymore, now I’ll…

Ring, Ring…

Well I don’t have to call her now, because she’s calling me. Or at least I think it’s her, yep it is.

So Bill told Sue that they no longer want her in the group because her brain tumor has caused her vocal power to disintegrate. Bill also told Sue that 90% of the people auditioning on Sunday afternoon have not even a slim chance of getting in. She’s balling her eyes out on the phone.

He what! Why that little @$$hole I’ll show him that you don’t mess with my friends like that, there are going to be fireworks after mass and they are not going to be very pleasant.What could I possibly have said to Sue to make her feel better at that point? She now has me crying too, because I know I’m in that 90% range.

All right Mandy, this is your big moment, I’ve been telling you all week that this is not where I want you, your voice deserves better usage, and now this is the icing on the cake, go for it!Yep, I’m not auditioning on Sunday, and I’m letting him know as nice as I possibly can act. I told Sue that no matter how much it hurts her to do it, walk by that stage with her head held high and a smile on her face, because if they see that, they’ll know she has the power to take in whatever they dish at her and nothing will get her down. I told her I loved her, and I’d be here for her whenever she needed someone, I even offered to sit with her and not read, but she insisted that I read, and I did, I took the first reading because it described what me and her were going through together at that time, and I portrayed the emotion very well.

And as for Bill, he is going to wish he never opened his mouth to Sue, because now he has to deal with me, and I’m moody for some reason, and quite cranky due to only getting four hours of sleep. He is going to wish he never even asked if I was ready for Sunday. If he says anything to me or even looks at me, he’s done.

So I walked up to church at 6:30, expecting the 5:30 mass to be somewhat finished… nope, mass didn’t end until 6:45. So once mass was officially done I started the task as lead lector, getting books set up and prepared and checking my own reading. Bill came into the chapel to set up his guitar and go on stage, he looks at me and says hello. I say nothing in response. He walks away, and I hear him whisper something to one of the lead singers, Mary Kate.

Looks like you scared him away, nice job! You’re handling this quite well. Keep your cool, don’t rat him out after mass, be the kind person you always are, even though you want to ring his neck around the nearest poll.

Boy would I ever. Mass proceeds and as we pass the stage in the procession, our eyes meet, mine misty from tears starting to well up. The same thing happens at the end of mass. After I grab my stuff, I go over to Sue and say I’m going to do what I have to do, pray for me that I don’t over react.

Now remember, be gentle with him, he’s a guy, his feelings get hurt easily.

I call him over to the corner, and simply say with a smile and a little shake in my voice, that I do not agree with the way he’s treating Sue, and that we’re not up here to perform a concert, we’re hear to sing for the Lord, and if that is what he’s after is a concert band, then he should go and find another place to direct. I also asked him nicely about the 90% of the people auditioning not making the cut, and I asked if I was one of that 90% and he said unfortunately, yes you are one of the people that will not make it. And at that point I just said thank you, then take me off your list and save yourself the hassle of hearing me for no reason. I’ve been rejected five times within the past year, and I’m not about to make it six with a stupid group like this one. I’ll be praying for you, because you obviously need prayer to help strengthen your leadership abilities. And with that stormed away to go find Sue, at this point just letting all the tears of frustration that have been building up since the beginning of mass fly out on her shoulder.

Well done, good and faithful servant, that is exactly what you needed to say, and I am proud that you help out so tough.

Random update

2007-05-22T23:52:00Z

+ Hey guys,
this is just a random blurb, no writing pieces. But every Thursday im going to post a different one, i have a few more to add and then i'll be done for a while. Well ok more than a few. But anywho.
11 days left for Seniors 07!!!! Yahoo! it's really kicking in now and i'm so pyched for graduation. I want to get out of there so bad. Tomorrow night is my last chorus concert (performing in it anyways). It'll be a sad night but a fun one as well. we're doing some amusing songs, such as Frim Fram Sauce, a song about a food that doesn't exist... "Cumana" which is a spicy Vensulaian piece, and "Old Dan Tucker" which is a hoedown song. That one i must say is the most interesting to watch.
On Friday my outdoor prayer workshop starts it's 1st night out of 14, and i am so pysched. I have 24 students signed up, plus the Young Adult Ministry is sending about 5 or 6 people to check it out. Just thought i'd post to say hey!

Evangelizing The Islands

2007-05-18T00:50:02Z

Evangelizing the Islands

All right, I’m finally on my own getaway island, with Sue and Rose, the three musketeers from Ste. Marie’s, coming to the islands to evangelize. This is going to be so much fun, I wonder how everyone at Ste. Marie’s is doing.
Let’s go for a swim before we start socializing and evangelizing, after all this is supposed to be a vacation as well as a mission.
So we went for a swim. The water was so nice and warm, and crystal clear! The water really did look like it was blue! This is going to be an awesome week.
Remember Mandy, you’re not here to relax the whole week, and you have work to do.
Yeah, I know I have work to do, but I just got here. Well, I guess the first thing we should do that’ll really help us is to find the nearest Catholic Church, or a list of them to see if we can set up meeting dates with the parishes.
Why did father Marc pick us to go on this mission trip? We’re not the evangelization team!
So I open up the phone book and there’s no catholic churches listed.
Oh Lord, please tell me there’s at least one Catholic Church down here! There has to be, or else father Marc wouldn’t have sent us… or would he?
I know, let’s go to the library they must have some books or directory numbers that we could use.
You have to find the library first you dummy!
Why is my brain calling me a dummy? Who gave him the authority to be mean? Why I’ll show him!
Ah-ha! I found it, church of the Holy Spirit… yippee! And it’s charismatic too this is going to be so easy…wait…maybe?
OK, now that we have that… time to go meet with these people and see what they don’t already know

If Only/ But Really Poetry

2007-05-16T01:40:31Z

If only time could freeze
But really, it marches right along.
If only the world would get along
But really that’ll never happen.
If only friends could last forever
But really we all die sometimes.
If only people could realize the harm they’re causing
But really they’ll continue being ignorant.
If only snow could stay away
But really, it’s New Hampshire.

If only summer could stay year-round
But really winter must set in.
If only the sun could shine all day
But really darkness must arrive.
If only a little happiness could hit my life
But really happiness is just a dream.
If only I could turn back time
But really I know I can’t.
If only I could see you again
But really I know you’re happy.

Haiku/Acrostic Poetry

2007-05-13T23:07:33Z

First summer morning:

The sun shines bright on the bay

Singing in the rain

Church bells are ringing

Christmas time is here again

Only without snow

Many people call me

Animated and thought-provoking

Not many people know what’s behind the laughs

Do they really want to know?

Yes, they should, I’ve gone through a lot to get to being animated.

Sing songs of praise to the Lord

In the morning

Never ceasing

Going strong

Into evening

Never-ending

God.

Free Verse Poems

2007-05-12T13:31:30Z

A life so young, fragile and pure.
We had so many plans
July 3rd, 2009 was our wedding bell day.
Jacqueline, Lydia and Cheryl our three hopeful daughters.
Mrs. Isabelle would be me; I’d be the psycho crazy teacher everyone wanted.
Our wedding, our life, our future…
But God had other plans, because this family would be together eternally, we were engaged for eternity on June 9th, 2006, when God called you home.

You tried
You cried
I was there to hold you up
You thought you lost,
But really you won, because Jesus has victory over the grave, so you have victory over all.
You were lost, but I saved you.
You were lonely, but I found you.
You were sad, but I made you laugh.
I think this is God’s way of saying…
We were meant for each other.

The Day The Music Died

2007-05-10T19:25:03Z

The day the music died

It was Friday, June 9th, 2006. 5:30 evening mass had just let out, and me and my friends, Rose Marie and Sue had planned to go out for a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant, Ruby Tuesday’s out near the mall of New Hampshire. We decided instead of taking three cars and following each other, we’d all pile into Rose’s Mercury Villager and go as a group.
“It’s nice to know I have friends like you two to go out with every once in a while,” I said hopping into the front seat.
“Well, thanks Mandy, I’m glad I met you too,” Sue responded, as she piled into the back seat.
“Yeah, me too, but remember the weird ways we both met each other.” replied Rose as she started the van.
Rose is one of those people where you never know what she is going to say or what she is going to do.
“Yeah, that’s true,” I replied, reminiscing over the first time meeting Rose and the first time meeting Sue.
I had seen Rose at mass for a long time, but never bothered to say hello, one day she took the first step in our friendship, and little did she know that it saved my life, if it wasn’t for her I probably wouldn’t have been here. Ever since then she’s been one of my best friends and she’s really funny, not to mention an awesome singer.
“You know, Rose” I said, “what I’ve told you over he past few months, is true.”
“What, about how us becoming friends has saved your life? I figured that out by looking at your arms.” Rose replied.
Then I thought about the day Sue and me became true friends, and how she was on the verge of breakdown mode with no one to go to, and I came up to offer her a shoulder to cry on right when she needed it.
“ You know Sue, and you too Rose, for that matter… I’ll always be here whenever you need someone. I’m really looking forward to more nights like this.” I said, to break the silence, which I think actually startled Sue a bit, because I saw her jump in the back seat. We finally got to the restaurant and were seated and ordered our food. I always take my cell phone out and put it on the table while I’m out in case it rings, especially with sickly people in my family, you never know what will happen or when. So I set it on the table, hoping it wouldn’t ring. I have a phone where each person has it’s own ring tone. My friend Rose has “I Can Only Imagine,” because that is her favorite song, and Sue has “Holy Is His Name.” Suddenly as we were just coming back from getting our salads at the salad bar, “Raise up an army” came blasting from my cell phone. A nervous “Oh, no” peeled from my mouth as I slammed into the seat to quickly answer the phone. That response sent a panic on the faces of Rose and Sue, as I had told them about the person on the other end and his condition. “Raise up an army” was the song I chose for my boyfriend Jesse’s number, because it was his absolute favorite song that the 11:30 band plays. I knew this couldn’t be good, but I thought maybe Jesse just wants to check up on me. I picked up the phone…
“Hello Jes… wait, this isn’t Jesse, Carol??? Oh God what’s wrong!”
“Mandy, where are you?” Carol, Jesse’s mother asked, “Are you busy?” Her voice sounded really worried and squeaky… I knew this wasn’t good at all.
“I’m out to dinner with Rose and Sue, but we can cancel the order if you want, what’s going on?”
“No, that’s ok, Mandy, don’t ruin your plans, where are you? Have them add another setting I’ll be down shortly.” and then she hung up the phone.
So the next time the waitress went by, we explained what happened and asked to be moved to a bigger booth to fit Carol. Once we were situated in our new seats, Rose finally broke the silence.
“Who was that?” she asked.
I hesitated answering, because I didn’t want them to know the worry I had in my heart.
“That was Carol Sheehan, Jesse’s mom,” I said with a sigh of worry in my voice. “She’s coming to join us, and she sounded really upset on the phone, not mad upset, but sad upset… I think it has to do with Jesse.”
Both Sue and Rose were silent after I had mentioned my thoughts on what this could be about, they knew how much I loved him, and if he died, that it would be a long healing process. But they I think felt the same way, and knew what was coming next.
Carol finally arrived, and she looked ok, she still smiled at me, and she said hi to Rose and Sue and sat down across from me. Which was another hint that it was not an easy topic.
“Mandy,” Carol began, “I know you probably already have an idea what I’m going to tell you… and I hate to do it, I really do… it’s hard for me to say myself.”
I just stared, as if saying “No, don’t go any further, I don’t want to…”
“Mandy, Jesse passed away this afternoon.”
My face just died, I completely lost it. So many thoughts were going through my head. The future we had together, the wedding day on July 4th weekend, with all the bridesmaids, the awesome music, my twenty foot train on my wedding dress with my grandmother’s veil draping my face. Our three hopeful children, Jacqueline Theresa Rose, Lydia Carolyn and Cheryl Jillian. The hugs I get from everyone in his family on Sunday mornings. Having my students call me “Mrs. Isabelle,” and now, it’s all gone.
At this point Rose and Sue were already in tears just looking at my reaction. I knew it was going to be a long ride home and a very, very long weekend ahead.
“Mandy…” carol said, “I know it’s hard for you as his girlfriend, I knew your dreams, and Jesse’s. He wrote about your future together all the time in his journal. He loved you very much. He had the ring picked out, which he was going to give you Sunday, at the end of mass, and have Father Marc bless the engagement.”
This just made matters worse, knowing I would have been on my way to “Mr. And Mrs. Jesse and Mandy Isabelle,” and I just couldn’t take it anymore.
Then, suddenly, Carol took this box out of her pocket, and I knew it was the ring.
“He would want you to have it, so open it and wear it. You guys are eternally married, and will be forever through God now.”
I opened up the box, and there was this BEAUTIFUL diamond, gold banded ring. And folded up inside was a little note Jesse had left me, just hours before he left this world. Carol did not know about this note. I debated reading it out loud, but the girls insisted that I read it to them.
So I began: “Dear Mandy, I know I’m leaving you today. I woke up feeling peaceful today, because last night, I saw my grandmother, and she was telling me how when I got to heaven, we’d eat cookies and play games and have a lot of fun with Jesus and all his friends. There’s a great Contemporary music group here, and I already told them about how beautiful your voice is, and they said they’d hold a microphone for you, in the front row! But I’m scared of leaving you, and my mom, dad, and pops, and Tyler and Katie, and Dawn and all my step brothers and sisters. But I’m not going to worry, because I know you will all get through this together. I know you will watch my family and stay close to them. I know we had many plans together for the future, and me dieing is going to delete those plans from your mind, but at least you will be able to be forever engaged to the one you always loved. I will miss you a lot, but as you always said, ‘when the Lord calls, you must answer him’. I love you Mandy. Love, Jesse L. Isabelle.”
Once I had finished reading the note, I looked up, with tears in my own eyes, only to see everyone else in my table crying, as well as the waitresses and people gathered around to hear what I was reading. We all continued eating our dinner, Carol left before our food was brought because she had already eaten with Dennis at home.
“Wow, you and Jesse really were going together weren’t you?” Rose asked, “I never knew you two were that much in love.”
“Yeah, we had wedding plans made for July 3rd, 2008, I was going to have you and Sue sing with the 4:00 group, I ha all my bridesmaids picked out , the music was coming along great, John was walking me down the aisle… and now it’s all gone.” I attempted to say, without bursting into tears. After I finished, I just let it all out. Once we finally were done eating, we plowed back into the van, and Rose dropped us off at the church because she had to work the night shift, but I did not want to go home, I just couldn’t… so I went and hung out with Sue and we just sat on the couch, I fell asleep crying into her shoulder. But before I went to sleep, I heard a voice like Jesse’s say “It’s fun up here Mandy, I already reserved your seat, and when we get up here together again, we’ll have our dream wedding.”

A Night On The Dead (Descriptive Writing)

2007-05-08T19:21:39Z

Night on the dead

It was around 11:30 on a Friday night and my friends Sue and Rose, and I were coming from a late night show at the movie theater. We had watched “Night at the Museum” and it was totally funny. We walked to the movie theater because we needed the exercise and it was a nice night. It was brisk out that night, but not too cold, there was a beach breeze type wind every couple of minutes. The sky was beautiful. We just stood outside for a few minutes, admiring and taking in the beauty of the night, before setting out on our journey home.
“It’s so beautiful out,” Sue said, “and being with the two of you makes it so much better.”
“Yeah, I must admit, I’m not much of a movie person myself, but being with the company of good friends was nice.” Rose replied.
Once we had finally decided it was time to start the trek home… I noticed a cemetery up ahead. It wasn’t an old spooky cemetery, but it did have it’s sections.
“Hey guys, there’s a cemetery up ahead, who’s game for a trip through it?” I asked, “besides, it’ll cut our trip in half, and it’ll be fun!”
“Hey! I’m game!” Rose answered, excitedly.
Sue was reluctant at first but finally agreed to follow. We cut through the secret path that no one knew about, which lead us into the really old section of the cemetery, way up on a very steep hill.
“WOW!” Sue said, as she looked at the view from the top. “You can see everything up here!”
So we continued our trek through the cemetery and made visiting stops along the way, to my boyfriend Jesse’s stone, our bass guitarist’s area (his stone is not yet up), and our last stop was a stone to laugh at, our friend Rose had already bought hers. We finally found the exit to the cemetery and walked back up to the church where our cars were parked. We really didn’t want this night to end, but knew it had to.
“Do we really have to go?” Sue asked.
“Yeah, I know what you mean, we’re all having so much fun, just being together, that leaving seems like it will leave a void.” I said.
“Well, look at it this way, in another 11 hours we’ll see each other at rehearsals for 4:00 mass” Rose replied.
“Well, you’ll be rehearsing anyways” I said.
“Aren’t you singing with us?” Sue asked.
“No I’m reading this weekend ,remember?” I said.
“oh yeah!” they both said at the same time.
“So you two will be singing, and I’ll be up there reading. I also get to make my announcement about sign ups for the CSI seminar, that’ll be fun.” I said.
“That’ll be exiting!” they both replied, at the same time.
So we gave each other a hug, and each drove off to their own living arrangements, except Sue, as she slept over Mandy’s house for the night.

My Sanity (Descriptive Place)

2007-05-08T01:19:39Z

My Sanity

The place I chose to describe is my favorite place, and the place where I spend most of my time. Ste. Marie’s is like my second home. I’m there every single day for one thing or another. It is a place I can go that offers the peace and quiet that I need to get away from my stressful home life. Many people wonder how I could possibly describe a church. To them it may just be a building; to me… it is so much more. The church is so tall, that you can see its steeple from the East Side of Manchester. Just seeing that steeple illuminated by the beautiful spot lights that turn on at night, it makes you just melt, to me, it’s my pillar of strength, and hope that there is light at the end of this long excruciating tunnel of life I am traveling, all for him. When you first stand in front of it, the beauty of the outside alone awes you. There’s the beautiful water fountain that is in the front, which is always on for weddings and after all weekend masses during the summer months, the kids love to run around next to it after masses.
On the left of the church is the parish rectory, where the priests live… we call it the mansion, because it’s beautiful and humongous, there are three floors. The first floor is a bunch of gathering rooms, and almost has a funeral home set up to it, but very cozy with a fireplace and piano. The other two floors are bedrooms, and there is a small private chapel as well.
On the right of the church is the Holy Angels school building, which used to be the former Ste. Marie High School for Girls. Now it is used as a day care center for working parents, as well as the Young Adult Building, which is located on the third floor. Other programs take place in the building from time to time as well. Over a little further is the gymnasium, which is used for our men’s basketball team, as well as dances, fairs, and other fundraising events. Closest to the side entrance/exit of the church is our office of Evangelization, Sisters of the Presentation of Mary provincial house, and our Mother Rivier Eucharistic Adoration chapel. They are all connected to the same building, the top floor being the convent and the bottom floor being split between the Evangelization office and adoration chapel. I spend a lot of time in both places of this building, except the convent, because I am one of our parish Evangelists that helps to plan things like tent revivals, Lenten devotions, life in the spirit seminars and other things our parish does to evangelize. I am also an hour captain for the 3-4PM and 8-9PM hours which means if someone that holds that hour cannot make their night, they call me to replace them. I also have my own hours from 3-4PM on Sunday afternoons, 4-5PM on Thursday afternoons, and during the summer 3-5AM on Friday mornings.
As you move almost off our campus, onto Cartier Street, you will see another big red brick building. That is the heavy school building, which was an elementary school at one time. It is still used for religious education on Monday nights, which I teach fourth grade, session one, which runs from 4-5:15. It also holds healing prayer classes on Tuesday’s and many other meetings, such as the Our Lady of Fatima Apostolate and this summer, the new coming attraction for 14 weeks, my workshop on prayer methods called “CSI (Catholic Spirituality Investigation): Paradise.” It also holds our parish bookstore, which has tons of awesome gifts, books, rosaries, Cds, magnets and other various items. I volunteer my time there as well.
This place is so beautiful. You walk into the church and are greeted by an array of eye opening statues and windows that just blow your mind away. You can hear Gregorian chant music piped into the sound speakers as you’re praying. The bells toll at twelve, three, six and nine, both AM and PM, as well as 7AM to signal that mass will be starting in 15 minutes. You can smell the incense as it rises to the roof, binding your prayers into its smoke, the smell of the sacred wine, as its being blessed and consecrated into the blood of Jesus. You can hear the sounds of the bands playing beautiful music at the weekend masses, the choir, the organ, which needs to be tuned badly, the lectors, proclaiming God’s word at the pulpit. And occasionally the sorrowful sounds of the funeral tolls, as a longtime member of the parish is laid to rest. Sometimes the cries of a baby as he or she is being lowered into the water to receive the sacrament of Baptism. You can taste the body and blood, under the image of bread and wine, and can almost taste the incense as it smells, and rises. You can touch the books and binders with music books inside, the chalice as you receive the wine. You can touch friends and relatives to give the ma hug; some touch the sacred host as they receive it in their hands. The whole campus of Ste. Marie’s is a very special place in my heart, but really my favorite place of all is the Adoration Chapel. When I’m in there, I feel free, and all my cares are washed away in his blood and water, that flowed from his side for me. I feel very safe and loved when I’m in there. I also get apparitions from the Blessed Mother Mary and my patron saint, Joan of Arc, while I’m in there. They appear to me and tell me things, such as what to do with a current situation or telling me to start something. No one can hear or see them but me. I an go in there and talk, or cry whenever I need to. My second home is and always will be Ste. Marie’s.

Concern

2007-05-05T00:15:16Z

Abortion is a big topic in today’s society.
Pro-life:
It’s wrong, and kills a life, not given a chance to survive.
Pro-choice: it’s your own decision, my parents don’t even have to know, I screwed up, but don’t want to pay the price… so we’ll destroy the evidence… it’s not a life, it’s just a blob of cells, it doesn’t mean anything.
I am Pro-life, and proud to be.
Decisions, decisions… you play, you pay for it. That “blob of cells”, if given the chance, could have been one of America’s greatest leaders, the next Nashville Star, the scientist that discovered the long-awaited cure for cancer…but…
It’s just a blob of cells, so we’ll flush it out of my body and down the toilet like a lifeless tissue paper.

You,
You destroyed my dreams
Made me feel worthless and scared
I felt trapped for the longest time, like I’d never be set free.
Everywhere I turned was a trap door with no knob.
Even after you died, I was still trapped inside the negativity zone that you had created for me.
New friends helped, and made me see…
But you still kept haunting me.
I met Jesse; the love of my life… but that was a short-lived relationship because the Lord took him away.
Sue is my best friend, she cares for me a lot, and helps me push past the negative barriers you put up around me.
You…
You thought you had done me over, had me ruined… and you did.
Then I recruited a new army of friends, and now Sue and I are destined to conquer over this battle, and claim Victorious over your stupidity and jealousy.
WE WILL PREVAIL!

home of the dead

2007-04-14T16:44:49Z

The house of the dead

Mandy and her two friends Rose Marie and Susan had just been chosen, or nominated, for the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition TV Show. They were getting a house built from scratch that would include surprise rooms that the builders had fished information to create, such as their own chapel in the back, bedrooms designed to detail their hobbies, and a special classroom that will fit 40 students, to benefit Mandy’s CSI Prayer workshop being held from May 25th-August 25th. Their new house also included a huge yard, a huge heated pool with a built in Jacuzzi and a game room downstairs with a pool table. It would be located in Hooksett, which was a little out of their way for work, but that wasn’t to be a problem, as they were also given three brand new cars, based on their favorite makes and models. Mandy received a Red Toyota Matrix station wagon, perfect for carrying materials to and from her current job as a high school English Teacher at Trinity High School in Manchester. Rose Marie got a brand new Mercury Mountaineer to replace her trashed 1997 Mercury Villager, and she is a Respiratory/Sleep Aid Therapist at the Veteran’s Administrations hospital in Manchester. Sue got the brand new Jeep Laredo and they are all enjoying their new cars, and are not allowed to go by the worksite until they’re called “home”.
They are currently living in their own houses. Mandy and Rose are about a minute from each other, both in Manchester, and Sue currently lives in Merrimack. Sue, Rose and Mandy met at Ste. Marie’s, where the three of them still attend. Sue and Rose sing in the 4:00 Sacred Jimmy Band on Saturday’s and Mandy serves on various committees and functions, mainly lectoring at masses throughout the week and on weekends. Normally, if you’ve seen the show, they send the family away on a vacation. But since they are completely building a brand new house for them, there is no reason for them to go away, so they basically spend a lot of time packing their clothes and personal belongings, and just being together.
When they got the call that the house was finally finished they asked the company to drop the key off and they would go and explore it on their own instead of having a guided tour of every room. They were very pleased, and the bonus room no one knew about was their own music studio room with recording areas and their own stage set up. That would come in handy for Mandy’s Prayer course, and the classroom was gorgeous too. It had a chalkboard on one side of the room and a marker board on the other side. There were exactly 40 chairs and desks, plus a big teacher’s desk in the corner. Now that the house was finished, the actual moving in part was here. They spent a whole day unpacking boxes and discovering hidden closets and doors. Each bedroom had it’s own style and a private bathroom. What more could they want? The yard was gorgeous…except for the small rectangular shaped stones that were sticking up, barely visible here and there.
Once moved in, Mandy now could officially start her Prayer workshop/seminar/course that she had planned on doing in the park, before knowing about the whole house-building project. She wrote out invitations to close friends of Ste. Marie’s, as well as a few from St. Patrick’s, teachers, and select family members, explaining how the registration process works and how much the suggested donation was. She received more replies than she expected, and soon the new classroom was already filled. The first session they decided would be used first as a social hour, to get everyone used to where the bathrooms were, and they got the grand tour of the house. They ordered pizza for the participants and had a little “get-to-know-you” hour with name tags, before the actual class started. Everyone was amazed at the chapel and music studio, and only a select few noticed the weird, random stones in the yard. Then, after eating, they all piled into the classroom, took a quick attendance using the registrations received, and explained the “first day of school 101” basics like rules, attendance policy, cancellations, where to meet and what they were studying. Mandy wrote down notebook option choices for everyone, wrote names and ID numbers inside notebooks and folders, and passed out a Thirty-question “get-to-know-you” survey to find out where each person was in their prayer life. Nothing really happened that was “interesting” until the next week.
Mandy and the girls were getting ready to leave for 5:30 mass and getting the class set up with the needed materials for tonight’s lesson on “The Rosary.” As Mandy was organizing the class with each of the sets of mysteries written on the chalkboard and a drawing of a Rosary with the prayers on it on the marker board, Mandy heard this sound, like a rushing wind, but when she looked outside, nothing was moving, no leaves, no trees… it was silent and still.
“That was weird” she said, but continued on with her work.
So they finished getting set up and off to mass they went. They had to get there early to place the “reserved” signs on the benches so everyone taking the CSI course could sit together. Father Marc mentioned all of them, had them stand up and come to the front to receive a special blessing, and also agreed to do a special Commencement mass at the end of our 14-week course. After mass, they all traveled to the new house for their class of the week. Carol Sheehan, one of the participants who noticed the stones in the yard the first night there, said she suddenly got a cold draft as she was walking towards the classroom, like someone whisked by her in a hurry.
“OK, that was a bit drafty,” Carol said as she returned from the kitchen.
“Well, the windows are open, maybe you walking by caused the curtains to move, giving a breeze,” Rose said. “Now get to your seat so we can start.”
“Excuse me, Ms. Cusson…I believe I am the teacher here,” Mandy said.
Everyone started laughing, and Rose turned red from embarrassment.
“Sorry ’Sister Mandy,’” Rose replied quietly.
So they continued on their way with the night, taking attendance and passing out notebooks and folders. Mandy went to plug in the CD player for tonight’s opening song, but the cord kept unplugging itself…she was starting to get irritated with it and finally got it to stay in. Then it was interactive time. Mandy’s true passion for teaching really started coming out, as she started running and skipping up to people to ask questions such as “what is the first Joyful mystery of the Rosary… Tyler?” They really got to see her psychopath way of teaching, and they enjoyed it very much. Then it was time for the meditation songs for the Rosary, and the same thing happened again with the CD Player. Mandy was beginning to wonder if all these things happening would one day come to a stop. Rose was just enjoying the fun moments, but Sue was with Mandy, and she also thought something was quite different about this newly built home.
So the music was finally over and they started the next set of mysteries, or attempted to anyways. Mandy needed to write down answers on the board, but every time she went to grab a piece of chalk, it moved away. Now some of the participants were starting to get a little worried with the possible “haunting” going on around here.
Once the lesson was over and they were writing in their reflection books, Marlena, a CSI participant, raised her hand.
“Yes, Marlena?” Mandy asked.
“Not to bring this up to scare anyone, but is there a possibility this house is haunted?”
Mandy knew this question would be asked sooner or later, and the thought had crossed their minds, all of them except Rose that is. But it’s a brand new house, how could it possibly be haunted?
“I suppose anything is possible, but by who or what, no body knows… that’ll be our project for the week is to find out who’s haunting this place.”
So they said their closing prayers and played their closing song, again with the same CD Player problem, and everyone was dismissed until the next Friday.
“OK, we have seven days to figure out what’s going on in this place…when should we start?” asked Rose.
“WOW, that’s surprising coming from you,” Sue said, “it’s late now, I guess we could do some indoor investigations until we’re tired since we just did our Rosary.”
So they started on their way searching through rooms to see if anything was missing or moved.
“Nothing bizarre in the bedrooms,” Rose shouted as they searched through the house.
“Nothing in the kitchen either,” replied Sue… “But while we’re in here, anyone want left over pizza and ice cream?”
They took a break to brainstorm while eating.
“Well, let’s see what we have so far…” Mandy said.
They discovered that there was nothing unusual in the bedrooms or the kitchen.
“Carol had come from the kitchen earlier and said she felt a cold, icy draft before entering the classroom. I had also felt that draft while getting the classroom set up. The CD player kept unplugging itself, and the chalks moved when I tried to use them.”
“Obviously it’s someone who wants to get on the teacher’s nerves,” Rose replied with a laugh.
Rose was always the one to make them laugh in times when laughter wasn’t really the solution.
They weren’t getting anywhere, so they decided to go to bed for the night and work all day tomorrow putting clues together, since all three of them had that Saturday off.
The next morning at breakfast..
“Have any of you felt anything lately?” asked Sue. “I felt like someone was hovering over me last night while I was sleeping.”
“I don’t think spirits of deceased friends or relatives can follow you, can they?” Mandy asked.
“Now Mandy, you of all people should know this… of course they can!” Rose answered, imitating Father Marc.
“Great! So that opened the door to numerous possibilities. It could be my father, my boyfriend, Chris our bass player, Alyssa…”
“Well, let’s eliminate some of them,” Sue said.
Mandy’s father died in October of 2005, before this house was even thought of.
“He always said I was a good teacher, so if he thought I was a good teacher, he wouldn’t be the one, and he would want me to teach my class without interruptions.”
“Yeah, your father would be more one to haunt us while we’re singing in the music studio,” Rose said.
They all laughed at that point, because she was right.
“Yeah, either that or he’d be the one that would randomly make a sock stuff into our mouth to stop us from singing.” I said.
So they figured out it wasn’t Mandy’s father that was doing it and eliminated him from the list. Next on the list was Chris Allain, the well-known and well-missed bass guitarist from the Ste. Marie’s Contemporary music ministry “Covenant” that died August 19th, 2006.
“Could it be Chris?” asked Sue.
“I doubt that, he really didn’t know me well enough to be able to come back and haunt us like this, except when it comes to singing his music off key, then he might get a little mad,” I said.
“Well, that removes Chris too,” Rose said with a smile.
“So how about Jesse?” she asked. “You always said he told you he’d always be with you, plus Carol, his mother, felt the draft coming from the kitchen.”
“Good point of evidence there, Rose,” Mandy said, “but Jesse wouldn’t make the chalk move away. He’s like my dad, he always knew I’d make a great teacher someday.”
They quickly also deleted Alyssa from the list because she barely knew Mandy except for when they were playing in the pool halls. So if Alyssa were to haunt anyone, it would have to be during a game of pool, especially for Mandy, to get back at her for all the championships she’d won against her.
“Well, we have some evidence, but now no suspects…” thought Sue. “Who could possibly be doing this?”
“Hey! I have an idea!” exclaimed Rose, “it’s nice out, and when we moved here there were those suspicious stones sticking out of the yard, which if I don’t say so myself is quite large for a house.”
“Good thinking,” they both said at the same time.
So the three of them grabbed their cell phones and went out on an expedition of their backyard to see what they could find. They hadn’t really taken the time to explore the outside of their new house yet, so this would be the perfect thing to kill two birds with one stone… they hoped.
They were having fun just walking through the yard, admiring the huge pool they couldn’t wait to jump into.
“Once we finish this mystery case of who’s haunting our mansion, we’re jumping into this thing,” Rose said, determined.
“I’m all for that,” they both said at the same time, with a laugh.
So they continued on down the path. Suddenly Sue slowed down. They all wondered what she had found.
“Hmmm… interesting, a pile of dead flowers…” Sue said.
“That’s weird, why would a pile of dead flowers be in our yard, we’re not a cemetery,” Rose said.
For a while they thought to each other that it could be a possibility but quickly let it go, as it was impossible, the builders would be able to tell it was a cemetery… or would they?
“Well, let’s keep hunting,” Mandy said, “Our prize, the pool, is waiting for us.”
So they continued on their way, still baffled by the flowers, when suddenly Rose tripped on what appeared to be the stump of a rock.
“Hey Rose, you alright?” Mandy asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine, just wish I had seen that dumb rock sticking there… hey wait, there’s a name on this thing.”
“WHAT?” they both exclaimed.
“Yeah, it’s extremely old too, like back in the 1700’s.”
“Wait a minute…” Mandy said, “wasn’t there a story in the paper a few years ago about a Hooksett cemetery just disappearing off the maps because of all the rain and snow, the plots were sinking?”
“Oh gosh, you’re right!” Rose said, “Then this must be the cemetery!”
“You mean to tell me we’re living on top of dead people?” Sue asked, confused.
“Yeah, and they must have wanted to tell us they are still here and welcome us to their neighborhood,” Mandy said.
“Mandy, did I ever tell you how weird you are?” asked Sue. “But I love you anyways.”
So with the mystery solved, they decided that every day they’d take a walk in their yard to visit their “neighbors” and ended up making monuments for all their friends and family that had died as well, to make it look like a cemetery should. They even added a glow in the dark stone right next to the pool in honor of Jesse.
“There, now Jesse will always be with us, and protecting our house,” Mandy said confidently.
They went back to the house to get their swimsuits and went for a swim before calling everyone in the CSI course to tell them the good news. Next week’s session would start with a tour of the “cemetery” and then move in for regular scheduled lessons.
“At least we won’t have to worry about loud parties,” said Rose.
We all laughed and proceeded to go to sleep for the night.

My first post, oh boy!

2007-04-13T19:18:05Z

+ Hey guys,
this is my first post on my new name, i'm so excited. I got rid of my other one because i had to many people that were not responding to my posts so i figured i'd start fresh with new people.
I'll use this place to post my writing pieces so everyone can read them and comment on them, please comment so i know what you guys think!

Mandy