It must have been her simplicity...

By Terry Polakovic

Just as I sat down to write this I heard the familiar sound of an ice-cream truck.
I was actually going to write about something else, but now I am going to write about the ice-cream man. Actually, not really about the ice-cream man, but more about what he represents. Summer, swimming, hide and seek, kick-ball, bike riding, fresh cut grass, shady trees, the 4th of July…SECURITY.

As I was growing up, none of the kids on my block had a home life that compared to
“Leave it to Beaver.” But idiosyncrasies really weren’t that big of a deal back then. For example, the lady down the street cleaned her entire house every day. Her five kids weren’t allowed to play until they had completed the exact same chore which they had performed the day before. My mother, on the other hand, got up and went to 6:30 Mass. Then she came home and fixed us all a big breakfast of bacon and eggs (everyday!). After that she booted all five of us out the door, locked it and didn’t unlock it until right before dinner. It wasn’t anything personal, mind you; she just wanted her peace and quiet. In truth, we didn’t really mind this routine. We had a park at one end of the block and a pool at the other. Plus, she kept the refrigerator in the garage stocked with food, and we always had enough money for the ice cream man. So, life was good…

So good that 50 years later, the sound of an ice-cream truck brings me right back to my mother’s schedule. She wasn’t that complicated, she didn’t wear fancy clothes, she didn’t necessarily fix fancy meals. In fact, one summer she shared a side of beef with the same lady who cleaned her entire house every day. That summer, we had steak, baked potatoes and salad every night for dinner. It sounds great today, but we had it every night.

It must have been her simplicity that made me feel secure. It reminds me of that quote from St. Edith Stein, “The nation…doesn’t simply need what we have. It needs what we are.”

Reason for Hope

Several years ago, I delivered a speech at a Pro-Life Conference in Dallas. I wish I could say that it was the most memorable presentation of the day, but it wasn’t. In my opinion, a Boston attorney named Frances Hogan claimed that honor. I have never forgotten her story. Ms. Hogan spoke about graduating from Boston College Law School in the early 1970’s, at the height of the cultural revolution, the effects of which are still evident today. Eager to include women, various organizations such as the American Bar Association, the American Medical Association, Teacher Associations, etc., snatched up these young female attorneys and signed them up as board members.

As Catholic professional women coming of age during this turbulent time, Hogan and the others quickly realized that the organizations with which they had associated were adopting pro-choice positions. In protest, they resigned, which she claimed was the biggest mistake of her life. In her words, “we left the table.” As a result, they lost their voice. The rest is history.

All of this reminds me of my daughter. Newly graduated from Providence College in Rhode Island with a degree in Theology, she and four of her college roommates just spent the last couple of weeks driving up and down the West Coast. Since Denver was their beginning and ending point, I made sure that we had time for Mexican food, margaritas, and some lively conversation before they ventured off. What a gift!

As I listened to them, I thought of Frances Hogan and her graduating class of 1972. As the saying goes, “you’ve come a long way, baby…” These 2009 graduates are different. Full of life and confidence and smart as a whip, these young Catholic women are armed with all of John Paul II’s teachings on the dignity of women. They aren’t going to leave anyone’s table. We have every reason in the world to be hopeful.

My new blog!

By Terry Polakovic

Dear Friends,

It is with great excitement and a bit of healthy trepidation that I begin this blog. Excitement because in some small way I think it will help you to come to know the ENDOW (Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women) program and all of us a little better. We are very proud of this work, so naturally, we are eager to share it with anyone who might be interested. Trepidation comes from the fact that in preparing to start this blog, I have been reading and watching what other people, particularly Catholics, write on their blogs. Since I rarely read the local newspaper, and almost never watch TV, I have found most of the information on the various blogs to be very enlightening. That being said, the lack of civility and charity shown by some is disturbing. I am afraid that the internet has somehow given us the permission and protection to openly criticize one another, something we wouldn’t necessarily do if we were speaking face to face. This is not going to be that type of blog…

The ENDOW program began just over six years ago. At that time, we decided that ENDOW would be an educational program aimed at “the woman in the pew.” Since we considered ourselves to fit this description, this seemed to us to be an appropriate audience. Six years later, I can tell you that there is no one type of woman who fits this depiction. We are all so different. Our stories, our lives and our dreams are not the same. I know so much more now than I did then, so I am excited to share with you what I have learned.

Stay tuned….