Nun Run

I have had a long friendship with three sisters who are not just biological sisters but religious sisters.  Thy sisters live together in their family home, called St. James Convent in Greentree, Pennsylvania. They are sisters of the St. Joseph Order and their mother house is in Baden, Pennsylvania.

My friends are Sisters Eileen, Jeanne and Rosie. I first met Sr. Jeanne over 20 years ago, when we were both at one of the local catholic high schools. Sister Jeanne was on the faculty and I was one of the parents who volunteered at the school.

Sr. Jeanne and I became close friends. Sister Jeanne was one of the coolest person’s that I have ever met, dressed in the latest styles, right down to her funky three inch stylish heels. Anyone who ever met her, loved her. She has the most infectious loud laugh. Her love for the students was profound and deep. No one passed by Sr. Jeanne without her stopping to talk to them, praise them or compliment them. I had seen teenage boys and girls worship her. I had watched the boys talk to her and cry in front of her. She had that effect on them as well as on the female students.

I helped Sister with Campus Ministry, and interviewing all types of students that she would tell me about. I would write about them for the parents’ newsletter that I was in charge of. Sr. Jeanne and I became a formidable duo. Then one Sunday, Sister invited me to her house that she shared with Sisters Eileen and Rosie, and their younger brother Jimmy. Jimmy was bedridden and was the center of their attention and love. They adored him.

Anyone and everyone who visited the sisters made a beeline into Jimmy’s bedroom to say hello to him and to talk to him or just gently touch his arm and face. I will always remember coming into their house and being a part of their family. Even after Jimmy died, he left a void in not only the sisters’ lives but in the lives of the people who used to visit him. I still sit in the living room and look down the hall expecting to see Jimmy in his bed.

Whenever I drove to the Sisters house, and (that was a lot of the time), I dubbed it the Nun Run. Just sitting, eating, talking and laughing were enough to shore up my sagging spirit, or just energize me. There was nothing better to just sit with them, and just be with them.

A few weeks ago, Sr. Jeanne told me that they would be moving back into the community housing in Baden. All I could think of was how happy I was for them but how much I would miss visiting them in their own home. Then I thought - where did the time go? How could this be? I can only imagine being and feeling so vital, living in one’s own place and waking up one day and knowing that it was time to move on. But, it still baffles my mind.

I will miss visiting the sisters in their new place. Baden isn’t that far and all I have to do is jump on Interstate 79, exit to I-65 and drive a few miles down that road to Baden. It’ll be different for them and for me and for all the other people whose lives they have touched. But we can still talk, share food, and our stories. But mostly, we will still be able to laugh and anyone coming down the hallway will hear it!