5- Coyle Street

Why do we choose the roads we take?
Simple choices, can change our lives completely.
Case in point.
My parents purchased this home at 27 Coyle when we were still living on Stevens Avenue and rented it out for about 3 years to a family that Dad knew. My parents bought it for $13,000. That seemed a lot to me at the time. I struggled with the move away from Morrills Corner and many friends, but finally resigned myself that the move was inevitable. It happened. It was an ideal space for a family of six. We lived here through my memorable high school and college years. When we finally moved in, Mom let us select our own wallpaper. That was fun. My room was in the rear, second floor and I picked a treatment that featured Revolutionary War soldiers at attention. There were also cannons thrown in for good measure. When I headed off to college, my younger sister, Joanne, commandeered the room, and when I returned in the spring, I moved to the third floor. It was just me up there alone. I loved it. My room was in the middle of the side view on the third floor. I moved up a small TV, hotplate and some food. It even had a bathroom all to itself. It became my little world away from the craziness of the rest of the family. My oldest sister, Connie, called it 'the Monastery', and that was a perfect name. I'll end this with a funny story. When I graduated college with a BA in English, I needed to get my student teaching completed. I enrolled at USM and requested a  high school position, but all that was available was an 8 week internship at a middle school nearby. One afternoon I got a ride home with the first year art teacher. We were sitting on the front steps talking when Joanne came home. She rushed in the house searching for Mom. "Mom, Mom, do you see what's on the front steps... it's a girl... it's a blonde... with Mark. Mom, it's a girl!"
I don't make important decisions hastily.
And our lives take many twists and turns.
Mom and Joanne both got introduced that day.
Unbeknownst to them, they welcomed Elenka into our family that sunny April afternoon.