Jack suggested that this Facebook piece written by Tresine on the occasion of my 70th birthday on July 6, 2018, be added to the Ray Round Robin. --Sylvia Tresine wrote: "She moved 8 times before graduating high school; each move papering the walls and hanging curtains by her mother's side, readying the new home for her three younger brothers she helped to raise. Her graduating classmates must've felt vexed @ the valedictorian only there a year. She watched her mother earn a bachelor's degree when women didn't do such things. At 18, she continued the family legacy to become a Hilltopper-- for the first time the world was her oyster. A boy asked her if she wanted a cigarette. Silly boy.... why would she? Nevertheless, he persisted. She fashioned her own clothes, including the stylish slacks her professor told her women shouldn't wear to class in '69. Nevertheless, she persisted. The red-headed boy ushered her to his hometown with a ring on her finger, and they welcomed a curly gingered son. Then ginger twin girls whose impulsive, theatrical, self-indulgent adolescence would bring her to the brink. A French and Library Science double-major, her first profession was her last-- 29 years the Library Media Specialist @ Washington County High School. Even in small town KY, she pushed the envelope. Relentlessly pursued technology and innovation-- cuz the students in Springfield, KY deserved no less. Earned distinction and award in this role-- but at 3:30 each day, her hat changed shape. The shape of sacrifice. Unadulterated compassion. Audacious love. Courageous strength. And through her model and osmosis-- her three children understood kindness wins. The world was much bigger than ourselves. It was our commission to improve the lives of the people we knew. And women. must . persist. I learned early on that working mothers can do it all. Once "all" is defined. We understood the value of understanding the plight of humans beyond those we know. The power of a well-read, discerning, compassionate, critical-thinking woman knows no bounds. Retirement came in '99. Three weddings and five grandchildren would ensue in the next 7 years. Each wedding its own "wedding bible", each grandchild its own handmade wardrobe & quilt-- her enduring presence, no matter the cross-county drives & flights to be @ her daughter's side. No matter the aging mother who required every meal provided and every day attended. Nevertheless, she persisted. Two became five. Became 8 Became 14. At 3:30 in the morning as I cradled my inconsolable first newborn feeling hopeless and confused, our eyes met in the night. Her gaze spoke loudly. You can do this. You will do this. I am here. And we will do this. Her daughters + four granddaughters marched for women @ her side. Her son + grandsons know what a strong, independent woman is. The seamstress in her skips a generation-- but burns in Eloise & Lucy. @ 70, her wisdom is like a good KY bourbon, better with age. I crave it. "Did I do this @ 14?" I ask. "How did you respond when I did this?" I question in bewilderment. "Mama-- how did you love us so well? How did your optimism win over worry? How did your faith in our choices win when we made such impetuous, misguided adolescent choices?" Today. We celebrate her 70 years. Friday, the family she nurtured gathered to honor her. To acknowledge we are are who we are... because of her. Her pleasures are so simple. Her devotion to integrity so deep. Her impact on her world just getting started. Thank you, Mama. For personifying love for the human race. For persisting."