By Sister Jeanne McGue, SSND
"What have you done to get to be 100?" That is a difficult question to which I have been asked to respond.
One of our nurses laughingly told me she had asked the same question of a centenarian she cared for, and his reply was, "By accident." There is surely something of that in my life, but within and above accidents are God's loving gifts. Varied gifts that were given to me and all my profession classmates who now enjoy the greatest Gift - and are waiting for me, as are family and friends.
A word that ties my memories together is "transitions." Many changes have kept me alive and responsive to life, new ministries, hard and interesting work, and friends - SSNDs and others.
With my streak of independence, there was no anxiety about going off to the Juniorate at 14 and to Milwaukee at 16. I had some anxiety, however, with teaching at 19, strains of which persisted at times during my 25-year teaching stint on the elementary level and later in high school and with adults.
I was not a born teacher. I had to work hard at it. In my latter 50 years, a variety of other ministries, mainly religious education, enriched my life in many ways.
I've always approached transitions with a sense of excitement and openness to what awaited me, whether in the country or a big city, at a 3-room or normal-sized school, in teaching younger students or adults.
And always there would be the welcoming group of two to perhaps 60-some Sisters with whom to say "Yes to the joys and inevitable tensions of creating and recreating community each day."
To further enliven daily existence there were the tasks of housekeeping, cooking, and sewing (I still sew much for others); and the personal hobbies of knitting and crocheting. Finally, there were new tasks to learn, from operating a computer to driving a car.
Of necessity, I've traveled a lot alone - by car, by train, by plane - all of which offered practice in the art and science of resilience. That was particularly true the time I found myself traveling the wrong direction on a train!
Liturgy and church music have always been close to my heart. I still lector. Annual retreats were pure gift, as were two years away for study.
I may not have reached this point in life without the health care provided by the Order and very able nurses and doctors and now the staff at Marian Village. Thanks to all who accompanied me, including my family!
The journey has been longer than expected. By the law of averages, my major transition is not far down the road.
Meanwhile, I often recall the words of Robert Browning which my Postulant Directress, Sister Seraphia Maline, would quote: "Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made."
