How quickly the years have gone... the furthest year I can remember was when I was 5 years old. I was a chubby little girl with black ringlets and eyes that sparkled. I remember that year because I was invited to my Aunt Millie and Uncle Jerry's wedding. I can still see my Aunt's gown. It had a hooped skirt which made it stand out like the lady in Gone With The Wind, which I eventually watched over ten times during my lifetime. I was dressed in a maroon velvet dress with puffy sleeves and a white organdy overlay. I thought I was the bell of the ball. All my Italian relatives came over and squeezed my chubby cheeks and kissed me. Yuk, I hated that, but was happy to be at the wedding. It was so much fun to see the prosciutto and provolone sandwiches being tossed across the table. They called it a "football wedding", although I never really understood what that meant. There were no uniforms or footballs. Everyone was Zio Louie, Zio Dominic, Zia Constance, Zia Anna and the list of Z's goes on.
Yes, there were a lot of good times when I was young... I had big ideas as I got older as to what I wanted to be, but unfortunately, college was not in the picture for me. I learned stenography and typing and was content to become a girl in the "typing pool" at a well-known bank in New York. From there I was promoted to "secretary" to one a bank officer. After working there for several years, I decided that the banking world was not for me... I was tired of seeing all that money, when I was just taking home $65 a week. I then started to work for a well-known hair coloring company, and was secretary to a Product Manager. At that time I met a man who was to become my husband. He was in the service at the time and I was soon to move to Florida with my parents. After two weeks of meeting him, my parents and I moved to Florida. The move was much against my wishes. Florida was so far away and so was this man I met. We corresponded and he called me and before we knew it in 6 months we were engaged then married after a year. My eldest daughter was born after a year we were married and after 4 years I gave birth to a set of twins, a girl and boy. I enjoyed raising them, although having three children one birth being a set of twins to boot was very difficult. After the children were grown, one became a nurse, one a teacher and my son after having been in the Marines went on to be a police officer. My husband and I are so proud of what they have accomplished and we are also grandparents to 3 boys. Lively boys that keep you hopping with smiles that could warm any heart.
Over the years I enjoyed marriage, having children, taking care of a home, but deep down inside there was something missing. I wanted to be more. I remembered how I use to love to do art in school. I was often complimented on my work, but never really pursued it, because of the different things that had gone on in my life. I couldn't see supporting me as an artist, as it is so difficult to get noticed. I thought about just doing it for myself, when the children were small, but couldn't really put my heart into it. Too much going on I guess.
My oldest daughter had married first, and then the youngest daughter, my son by then was in the service and also out of the house. I thought about all the room we had in the house now and yes, we were empty nesters. It's a great feeling to not have those responsibilities any one, but in a way an empty feeling. So I thought about taking one of the bedrooms to be my craft room and make things like gift baskets to give to friends. I could go upstairs work to my heart's content and close the door and never have to worry about the mess. Of course, if you have a gift basket you need a card, so I began to make cards. I bought some watercolor paint and designed my own greeting cards to give to my family and friends or to bring to their home as a hostess gift. After 3 years of doing that, my family and friends said that I should start selling them. I laughed and said I didn't think they would sell. I took a few of my cards to local shops and they loved them and put them up for consignment. I then started to paint landscapes, still life paintings to see if I could better my skills. It was a little difficult in the beginning. Before I knew it I was always out buying paints, brushes, paper and canvases. After selling quite a few sets of cards, I decided to really get brave and design a website. I wanted to be able to sell my items on site, but could not afford to have a web provider design one for me. So I took it on my own to design my site. Today my site has been up and running for over 8 years. I enjoy adding and making changes to the site and it gives me the exposure I need.
Now that you know a little of my background, the purpose in writing this article is to let people know that no matter what life brings you, you can still accomplish what you have always dreamed of doing. Never let anything get the way of your dreams. Never let anyone discourage you from doing what you want to do and know that you are good at. Express yourself and always be proud of your abilities. If you don't make it at first, try again. Believe in your dreams... I have and will continue to strive to doing the things I love to do. You are never too old to start. Just because it didn't happen when you were young is no excuse not to let it happen now.
Jacqueline Coote Author of Women's Fiction - Books available on Amazon.com
Books: Only 60+ You Go Girl, Hidden Memories, Tea Can Wait, Meeting By Chance, Encouragement On The Go, A Different Style, Garden of Reflection.
Comments: email: jackie@impressionsbyjackie.com
