Retta, I'm sorry I didn't make the effort to get to know you better while we were in school.
I'm sorry that I could not possibly have understood what it was like for you to grow up with both of your parents gone, until I experienced the loss of my own mother. I still can't understand how it must have felt at such a young age.
You had talents and abilities that as peers (at least I) didn't give you enough accolades for. You did well in 4-H and were very good with horses. Somehow, in the walls of academia that isn't appreciated like the ability to hit a ball or get an "A" in geometry, but it should be.
I remember you held the school record for having the fastest typing word-per-minute without any errors, and Mr. Osterhoudt and Mr. Walsh were so proud of how well you did. I appreciated it because I'm still not much of a typist, but I failed to tell you that.
As children and adolescents we all give "nicknames" and do things we consider "teasing," and in youth, the lines between "teasing" and "bullying" often become blurred. The nickname "Horsey" really did indicate your passion and love for your horsemanship, but I'm afraid there were times it wasn't always conveyed to you as it should have been.
Your life was too short, and you suffered significant loss in the time you were here that had to have included significant pain. I'm sorry I couldn't see it then and didn't do more to reach out to you. May the Angels in heaven now give you all I should have, but didn't.
You are missed, and may the Angels bring us together again one day in a closer way! God Bless...Karen
Karen Kolpien (Bugaj)
Retta,I'm sorry I didn't make the effort to get to know you better while we were in school.
I'm sorry that I could not possibly have understood what it was like for you to grow up with both of your parents gone, until I experienced the loss of my own mother. I still can't understand how it must have felt at such a young age.
You had talents and abilities that as peers (at least I) didn't give you enough accolades for. You did well in 4-H and were very good with horses. Somehow, in the walls of academia that isn't appreciated like the ability to hit a ball or get an "A" in geometry, but it should be.
I remember you held the school record for having the fastest typing word-per-minute without any errors, and Mr. Osterhoudt and Mr. Walsh were so proud of how well you did. I appreciated it because I'm still not much of a typist, but I failed to tell you that.
As children and adolescents we all give "nicknames" and do things we consider "teasing," and in youth, the lines between "teasing" and "bullying" often become blurred. The nickname "Horsey" really did indicate your passion and love for your horsemanship, but I'm afraid there were times it wasn't always conveyed to you as it should have been.
Your life was too short, and you suffered significant loss in the time you were here that had to have included significant pain. I'm sorry I couldn't see it then and didn't do more to reach out to you. May the Angels in heaven now give you all I should have, but didn't.
You are missed, and may the Angels bring us together again one day in a closer way! God Bless...Karen