Here is something you probably don’t know about
me: I was born a Canadian citizen and I
retain dual citizenship still today. My
birthplace was in Quebec City, Canada in November of 1954. My first home was a place called La
Crèche. La Crèche is French for “the
crib” and it was a small orphanage run by Catholic nuns. My parents, Joseph and Jean Misuraca had
heard about La Crèche from Catholic Charities and they adopted my older sister
from there, and then two and a half years later, when I came along, they
adopted me. My parents---I have never
thought of them as my “adoptive” parents, they were just my parents-- brought
us home to Massapequa Park and provided us with a wonderful life.
I grew up on Westwood Road and had a wonderful
childhood. My mother was a strong
woman who was the backbone of our family. She was a stay-at-home mom and her family always came first, and she
always made us feel very special. My
father was a wonderful man who taught auto mechanics at a vocational school in
Westchester, NY. He had so many talents
and could really do anything. Both of my
parents were always open and honest about our adoptions and they always made it
clear that they had specifically chosen both my sister and me.
High school was a good experience for me. My family moved from Westwood Road to Nassau
Shores just as I entered high school, so school was a social place that helped
me make friends in my new neighborhood as well as keep in touch with my oldest
childhood friend, Regina Danielson.
Regina and I had lived down the street from each other before the move
and our friendship continues still today.
In high school I was a Bisonette, and I joined fun clubs like the
horseback riding club and the tennis club.
After graduation, I attended Nassau Community
college for a semester, but left there for a job with the FHA (Federal Housing
Administration), and then went on to the Department of Defense and from there I
went to work for the Air Force at Fairchild Republic, where they built the A-10
aircraft. Altogether, I worked for the
government for 10 years.
Some people have a burning desire to achieve some
sort of career, but all I ever wanted to be was a wife and mother. Maybe it had something to do with being
adopted. Although my parents loved us
completely, there was always the realization that you didn’t have a past, and
there were no relatives who looked like you.
I believe that my strong desire to have my own family was to create a
family that in some way reflected me.
I met my husband Jim at Fairchild Republic. He also worked for the Air Force as a
civilian. We married in 1979 and moved
to Annapolis where our daughter Janine was born a year later. We stayed there until Janine was two, and
then Jim got another job on Long Island and we bought a house in Blue
Point. In 1985, our identical twin sons,
Timothy and Kyle, were born. I was a
stay-at-home mom and loved every minute of it. Then Jim had a job opportunity
in Washington D.C. with NASA headquarters, and so, in 1992 we moved to Ashburn,
VA. I was 8 months pregnant with my
youngest, Leanne.
Northern VA was a great place to raise the kids
and the schools and colleges were great.
Life was busy with four kids, but I loved being a mom. When I had time to myself, I enjoyed riding
my bike on the Washington & Old Dominion (WO&D) Railroad Regional Park
bike trail. Nearly every day that the
kids were in school, I would ride 15 miles on that trail. It was a beautiful and peaceful place to be
and I often saw deer, fox, snakes, turtles and the occasional bear.
Jim and I were married for 20 years. It was a good marriage and he is a great
father, but the relationship had run its course. We separated, and I needed to reinvent myself
and get a job. So I became a flight
attendant for United Airlines and traveled all over the world. Jim would take
the kids when I traveled and I had them when I was home.
It was a fabulous job and I enjoyed working for
United very much. It was like being part
of a big family, and you always had someone to travel with. The scheduling was flexible and you could
swap hours or double up on hours and then take the next month off. I traveled all over Europe, China, Japan,
Singapore and Vietnam. When it became
difficult to be away from my kids, I transferred and became a Customer Service
Agent so that I could be home each night.
I left the airline industry after 9/11, when everything changed and
travel became difficult. It just wasn’t
the same working for the airlines any more.
I took a job with an event planning company, and I enjoyed that very
much.
After my divorce, I did date, and I had a long
term relationship, but it really wasn’t the right fit for my family. Meanwhile, on Sept 5, 2011, my grandson Jack
was born. It was one of the most amazing
days of my life! My daughter and her
husband are both attorneys in Philadelphia, and when her six month maternity
leave was up, she asked me to come and live with her until they could find good
daycare for Jack. It was a wonderful
experience and living with them benefited all of us. While I lived with them, I met someone on
Match.com. His name is Jim and he lives
in NJ and works for the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Our relationship took off and I know I am so blessed to have found such
a wonderful man. It has been said that
all you need is an honest man who can make you laugh, and if that is true, than
I am all set!
I have always wanted to live near the beach
again, that is one of the things that I always missed about Long Island. We found a place in Lewes, DE, and moved
there this year. My house is 1.5 miles
from the ocean and I love to walk into town everyday with my dog, Piggs. We will live here most of the year and we
hope to find a place in PA for the winter months.
When I think back over my life so far, I wouldn’t
change a thing. Everything that I have
done and experienced has led me right to this moment, and I couldn’t ask for
anything more. I have my health, a
wonderful family, a beautiful home, good food on the table and someone to
love. Oh, and my second grandson, Conor
was born at the end of September. My
life if full of joy, whether I am
sitting with Jim at the beach on a Sunday afternoon enjoying a glass of wine
and watching the sun set, or when I have
all the kids and grandkids here, making me crazy, eating all the food and
leaving wet towels everywhere. It is what
I always wanted.
Written by Carolyn Hammer through email interviews with Francine.
