Memories of My Buddy

It has been 17 years since I heard your voice.  Seventeen years since I smelled snickerdoodles baking in the kitchen.  Mine just never taste as good as yours did.  Seventeen years since we spent hours talking. Elsie Marie Weston, my mom’s baby sister, lost her battle with breast cancer 17 years ago and will forever be known as one of the strongest women I know.

Elsie‘s battle began when she was about 18 years old with lumps which were always removed and were not cancerous. Until the life changing diagnosis in 1990.  Her first mastectomy in 1990. Her second reconstructive surgery 6 years later to replace a leaking implant.  That’s when they found it in her bones. She went through medication regimes, and chemotherapy. And through it all she fought.

Sure, Elsie was family but she was also my best friend. Growing up, Elsie was privilege to some of my deepest secrets. I went from being the pesty niece she was forced to babysit to her buddy as we partied at the Headliner during our years working in Neptune Township. We both went to Atlantic City to open the Claridge Casino. We weathered hurricanes, blizzards and life itself. Elsie was there when Belinda was born – she even cut the cord before heading out to attend a wedding.

Elsie and Belinda were buddies. She was there to help. When I was in detox and rehab, she made sure life remained as normal for Belinda. I remember being in detox, not being able to have visitors – she helped Belinda make a sign and they stood outside the hospital window to show their support. When I came home from rehab, Elsie took us in when we were homeless.

Elsie taught me that dreams can and do come true – NEVER GIVE UP.  She fulfilled hers when she opened Small Wonders, a gift shop in Ocean Grove.  When the cancer spread, to Elsie’s eyes, things got a little tougher but she was  determined to work every day in her store. We all helped – Belinda learned how to work the register and run credit cards at the ripe old age of 10.

Belinda put together one of her famous surprise parties for Elsie’s 50th birthday. Elsie was mad but she never stayed mad for long at Belinda. That would be her last birthday with us. On May 23rd, Elsie was admitted into the hospital – she had lost 95% of her eyesight to cancer and had given up her will to live. Seven days later she became another Weston Angel – joining her parents in heaven.

She left behind a legacy…. She was a fighter. She was loving & kind. She was Belinda’s Buddy! A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about her. When there is a crisis or we are in the hospital, a sense of calm comes over me and I know that everything will be okay – see all my Weston angels are always with me – Mom-mom, Pop-pop, Elsie and Edythe.

 

Elsie, I miss you and I am sure that I didn’t tell you enough how much I loved you. Cherish the moments today – the good, the bad and the ugly for life is precious.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day.

Memories of My Buddy

Has it really been 16 years since I heard your voice?  Sixteen years since I smelled snickerdoodles baking in the kitchen.  Mine just never taste as good as yours did.  Sixteen years since we spent hours talking. Elsie Marie Weston, my mom’s baby sister, lost her battle with breast cancer 16 years ago and will forever be known as one of the strongest women I know.

Elsie‘s battle with lumps on her breast started when she was about 18 years old. Always removed and always were not cancerous. Until the life changing diagnosis  – you have breast cancer. Her first mastectomy in 1990. Her second reconstructive surgery 6 years later to replace a leaking implant.  Then they found it in her bones. She went through medication regimines, and chemotherapy. She continued to fight through it all.

Sure, Elsie was family but she was also my best friend. Growing up, Elsie was privilege to some of my deepest secrets. I may have been the pesty niece that she was forced to babysit when I was little but that changed. She visited me in college. We partied at the Headliner when we both worked for Neptune Township. We both went to Atlantic City to open the Claridge Casino. We were roomates – Tuckerton and Somers Point. We weathered hurricanes, blizzards and life itself. Elsie was there when Belinda was born – she even cut the cord before heading out to attend a wedding.

Elsie and Belinda were buddies. From the time Belinda was born she was there to help. When I was in detox and rehab, she made sure life remained as normal as possible. I remember being in detox, not being able to have visitors – she helped Belinda make a sign and they stood outside the hospital window to show their support. When I came home from rehab, Elsie took us in when we were evicted from our home.

Elsie fulfilled one of her dreams by opening Small Wonders, a gift shop in Ocean Grove.  Belinda and I traveled up on weekends to help out. Belinda traveled with Elsie and Edythe.  They taught Belinda to bake while spending countless hours watching Disney videos.  When the cancer spread, to Elsie’s eyes, things got a little tougher but she was  determined to work every day in her store. We all helped – Belinda learned how to work the register and run credit cards at the ripe old age of 10 so that she could work in the store as Elsie was going blind.

Belinda put together one of her famous surprise parties for Elsie’s 50th birthday. Elsie was mad but she never stayed mad for long at Belinda. That would be her last birthday with us. On May 23rd, Elsie was admitted into the hospital – she had lost 95% of her eyesight to cancer and had given up her will to live. Seven days later she became another Weston Angel – joining her parents in heaven.

The imprint that she left on the world will long be remembered by all of us. She was a fighter. She was loving & kind. She was Belinda’s Buddy! A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about her. When there is a crisis or we are in the hospital, a sense of calm comes over me and I knew that everything would be okay – see all my Weston angels are always with me – Mom-mom, Pop-pop, Elsie and Edythe.

 

Elsie, like the rest of the family, hated having pictures but this is a collage from the scrapbook we made for her 50th birthday.

Elsie, I miss you and I am sure that I didn’t tell you enough how much I loved you. Cherish the moments today – the good, the bad and the ugly for life is precious.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day.

Life in Atlantic City

Excitement.  Glitz and Glamour. Celebrities. Gambling. Partying.  

These were the words that came to mind in the early years of Atlantic City.  When I started working for the Claridge Casino Hotel, we were a Del Webb property with no walls and offices in a motel that at best is now a little shady   It was exciting to be on the ground floor working with Vegas Executives opening a casino hotel.  Commuting from Ocean Grove definitely had me living in two worlds – reality and illusions.  I helped to write the submission for the Division of Gaming Enforcement so that the casino could open – lots of paperwork and lots of rules.

As opening came near, we began hiring employees which is when my aunt, Elsie Weston, joined the security team. We were ships passing in the night from Ocean Grove because she worked 2nd shift and I was days.  The opening came and went with the day to day operations being some what mundane. As the youngest female security supervisor Del Webb ever had, it was a constant struggle to prove myself.  The November after we opened, there was a shift in management and the 3 youngest Security Supervisors were terminated due to a restructuring of our positions.  I was devastated and finding work in the casinos was tough for me.  See opening a casino is much different than actually working the floor in one. So without a new casino opening, I would resort to finding work in an office at half the salary and with a totally different way of life.  I wasn’t sure what to do at a 9 – 5pm, Monday to Friday job after being in a 24/7 business for so long.  I longed to get back into AC but not in a casino.

I began volunteering with the local Crime Stoppers and as a result helped to put together their National Conference in Atlantic City.  It was exciting for me to be back in the 24/7 life.  Adele Black, Sales Manager of the then Deauville Hotel was the hotel contact that later offered me a job.  I was back in AC working in the Sales Department.  Booking casino bus trips, greeting buses, booking conferences and now looking for a new way to get back into the casino but in the sales departments.  Another phase in my “previous life” began in hotel/ casino sales.  I ended up back at the Claridge for a short period of time working in Hotel Sales but left to help Adele open her own business – Atlantic City Hotel Reservations Center.  It was this transition that changed my life – it was during this time that my addictions would surface and I began to live the 24/7 fantasy life of Atlantic City.

I am sure that some are wondering why I am sharing all of this – who cares, right?  Well, I hope that some of the trials that I share during my Saturday personal stories will touch someone’s heart and help them.  See, the path I am on today is a blessing from God that I truly believe was laid out long ago.  The problem was that I got in the way and lost sight of his will while I was putting other things before him.  So as doors closed, windows of opportunities opened – some I grabbed, others I didn’t and those I did grab were for the wrong reasons.  Learn from your past for it will help you to shape your future.  Change is possible if you are willing to forgive yourself for those mistakes and move on.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!  

  

Happy Saturday…

Good Morning Everyone!  Here is to the start of a great weekend..  

It has been 84 days of blogging – sharing all of the random tidbits of information that have been stored away in my brain for all of these years.  Sometimes I don’t even know what I know.  Crazy, right?  Today’s post is going to let you get to know me a little bit better.  I know I may loose some readers here but it is a chance I am willing to take since I don’t do it often.  I figure every few weeks, I would share some personal stuff to let you in on life as Hope.

After graduating from Ocean Township High School, I headed off to Roger Williams College (which is now a University) in Bristol, Rhode Island.  A small school on the coast of Rhode Island about 20 minutes from Newport.  I started out in Education but quickly changed my major to Administration of Justice.  I actually excelled in these classes, unlike my first semester of freshman year when I almost flunked out.  This Jersey Girl never let the sand leave my shoes even when I wasn’t in NJ, I was always close to a beach.  After graduation, I stayed in Rhode Island to work for the Governor’s Justice Commission.  A fancy title for a Program person that wrote evaluations and recommendations on services that were available in the Juvenile Justice system for at risk youth in Rhode Island.  My first “funded” position through a grant and I had no clue what it all meant.  I truly thought that I could make a difference.  About 6-months into the job,  my Aunt Elsie sent me a job posting for Neptune Township for the Police Department.  I applied and actually got the job!  WOW!  I was headed back home.

Don’t get nervous folks, I wasn’t a police officer – I was a Crime Prevention Specialist.   Fancy title, huh?  Basically, I along with Howard O’Neill who was a cop, were to do crime prevention seminars, rape prevention classes, home safety checks, etc in the community.  You remember McGruff the Crime Dog?  We were partners with him.  It was a job back home and I enjoyed being home, close to family and back at my roots on the Jersey Shore.  For those that have heard me tell the story of why I answer to the name “Heather” this is why.  It was at this job that the Police Commissioner for the ENTIRE time I worked there called me Heather.  I guess that she either didn’t like my name or really wanted Heather for the job.  

The casinos opened in Atlantic City and I went to AC for the first time to see the casinos.  There was lots of excitement and the listings for available jobs was long.  At this point, the only casino was Resorts but there were many building and looking for employees. I came back to Neptune and put my resume together.  Never thinking that I had shot.  You guessed it, I got called for an interview by the Director of Security, Gordon Jenkins, for the Claridge Casino Hotel.  The interview was at a little coffee shop in AC at one of the converted motels that was being used for offices.  Gordon was from Las Vegas and was brought in to set things up.  A sweet man who was looking for a secretary that could transition into an Administrator as they go closer to opening.  He always had a smile on his face and loved to have breakfast meetings.  In fact, this is where I developed the habit of putting strawberry jam on cheese omelets.  Don’t knock it till you tried it!  He offered me the job and I jumped on it.  More money.  The excitement of AC.  This was when commuting became a part of my life.  I traveled 5 days a week from Ocean Grove to AC for many months….This was the first part of what I often call “my previous” life.

Just like my direct sales business, I have been on the roller coaster of life.  All of my experiences have shaped me into who I am.  I hope that you enjoyed a glimpse into my “previous” life.  For those that are wondering, how did she get from there to here?  I will share more as time goes on and the urge hits.

Treasure your memories, learn from your past and your mistakes, then use the things your have learned to grow in your personal development which will help you in your business.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Memories of My Buddy

I can hardly believe it has been 14 years since I heard your voice.  Fourteen years since I smelled snickerdoodles baking in the kitchen (I love to cook but am not a good baker). Fourteen years since we spent hours talking.  Elsie Marie Weston, my mom’s baby sister, lost her battle with breast cancer 14 years ago and will forever be known as one of the strongest women I had the pleasure of knowing.  

Elsie’s battle with lumps on her breast started when she was about 18 years old.  Always removed and always were not cancerous, then the diagnosis came – you have breast cancer.  She had her first mastectomy about 1990 while she was working in Atlantic City at the Claridge Casino.   Her second reconstructive surgery about 5 plus years later to replace a leaking implant, bone cancer and finally the loss of her eyesight.  She went through medication regimines, chemotherapy and physical therapy.  She continued to fight through it all.

Sure, Elsie was family – my Aunt but she was also my best friend.  Growing up, Elsie was privilege to some of my deepest secrets.  I may have been the pesty niece that she was forced to babysit when I was little but that changed.  She visited me in college.  We partied at the Headliner when we both worked for Neptune Township.  We both went to Atlantic City to open the Claridge Casino.  We were roomates – Tuckerton and Somers Point.  We weathered hurricanes, blizzards and life itself.    Elsie was there when Belinda Heldreth  was born – she even cut the cord before heading out to attend a wedding.

Elsie and Belinda were buddies.  From the time Belinda was born she was there to help.  When I was in detox and rehab, she made sure life remained as normal as possible.  I remember being in detox, not being able to have visitors – she helped Belinda make a sign and they stood outside the hospital window to show their support.  When I came home from rehab, Elsie took us in as we had been temporarily (3 months) evicted from our own home.

When Elsie left the Claridge and opened Small Wonders, a gift shop in Ocean Grove, Belinda and I traveled up on weekends to help out in the store.  Belinda spent many hours with Elsie and her sister, Edythe.  They traveled, taught Belinda to cook and bake while spending countless hours watching Disney videos.  As the cancer spread, life got a little tougher for Elsie.  She began to loose her eyesight but she was still determined to work every day in her store.  We all helped – Belinda even learned how to work the register and run credit cards at the ripe old age of 10 so that she could work in the store as Elsie was going blind.

Belinda put together one of her famous surprise parties for Elsie’s 50th birthday.  Elsie was mad at first but she never stayed mad at Belinda for long.  That would be her last birthday with us.  On May 23rd, Elsie was admitted into the hospital – she had lost 95% of her eyesight to cancer and had given up her will to live.  Seven days later she became another Weston Angel – joining her parents in heaven.

The imprint that she left on the world will long be remembered by all of us.  She was a fighter.  She was loving & kind.  She was Belinda’s Buddy!  A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about her.  As I was sitting in Jersey Shore with Rob this week, the last week with Elsie replayed in my head.  Memories flooded in but then a calm came over me and I knew that everything would be okay – see all my Weston angels were with me as I spent the night – Mom-mom, Pop-pop, Elsie and Edythe.  Thank you my angels for being with me this week as we sat in the same hospital during the same week 14 years ago…the blessing, Rob is home.

Elsie, I miss you and I am sure that I didn’t tell you enough how much I loved you. Belinda made this montage of pictures.  Elsie & Belinda (top); Belinda & I (middle) and Edythe & Belinda (bottom).  Cherish the moments today – the good, the bad and the ugly for life is precious.  Have a ThirtyOne-derful day.