Photoessay #142 - Support from a friend

I want to share a story about how my friend, Bronsa supported me when I started at Changes, the parent support group. In fact, I sometimes bring this up in group about how community members can support you. In the spring of 2000, I was frantic, Danny's behavior was out of control and I didn't know what to do. I had just started at Changes in Feb. After the diversion hearing, Danny had to go to Intensive Outpatient at Center for Human Services. Parents were supposed to go on Wednesday nights. I did NOT like going to the drug thing. Dennis did NOT like going to Changes. And there were the three other kids. Susanna was a freshman playing varsity softball at Shorecrest. I was so grateful for a parent who helped me out by giving Susanna a ride home from practice almost every day even though it was way out of her way. The girls were all on softball teams. I told the coaches if they wanted them to play on Wednesdays, they had to come pick them up ... and they did. But Ilana wanted to swim and I got her into the Cascade Swim Club which practiced at Shoreline Pool. I didn't realize at the time that Cascade Swim Club was a competitive select swimming organization so it really wasn't the right place. But they had a program for 'slow kids' which Ilana enjoyed quite a bit. She was 13 and she swam with the 7 year olds but she didn't care. She liked going to swim practice and swim up and down the pool. Actually she credits her months at Cascade for teaching her a lot about swim strokes. But the practice was on Wednesday nights. I just could not swing it. Bronsa said "I will pick Ilana up from swim practice every Wednesday night. No problem, it will just be part of my routine" And she did. I would drop off Ilana at swimming on my way down to Changes. Bronsa picked her up and brought her home. Every Wednesday. For months. I am so grateful to her for doing that. It was golden, so helpful, it helped me keep things together and Ilana had the chance to swim.

The first two years Susanna was at UO, Bronsa went down to the UO softball games in the Bay Area. It gave her a great excuse to visit her siblings there and attend the games at Cal and Stanford. At the Stanford game in the stands in 2004 or 2005. She got in touch with one of the Shorecrest grads at Stanford, Chito, and offered him lunch if he would go to the game with her. He did (who can turn down a free lunch) and Susanna was so thrilled to see Chito after the game. Chito is the young man in the yellow shirt in the foreground. Bronsa is sitting just to his left. Sue and Dan Beittel are to the left of Bronsa