I Made It
I tell everyone who is interested that I am 86 years old. The fact is that I was 86 on April 11th 2005. I say it with pride and feel like I did on my 21st birthday. On that birthday I stood in my bedroom, before going out for the family celebration, and twirled round and round in front of my full-length mirror while I said over and over again, “I made it.”
As a sickly little girl with severe chronic kidney disease I heard doctors said that I might never reach adulthood, but I did. They also explained that if I lived and married I was never to bear children because the strain on the kidneys would be too severe and could cause my death. Well! I did grow up and I did get married. And about six months after the wedding, I thought I was pregnant.
My visit to a gynecologist brought about the need for a urinalysis and a rabbit test. (Sixty one years ago, that was the only pregnancy test.) That meant anxiously waiting by the telephone for an answer. It finally rang and yes, I was pregnant. I inquired about the results of the urinalysis. “Perfectly clear,” came the doctor’s voice, “I’ll see you in three weeks.” He didn’t know what he was telling me, he didn’t understand about the warnings, he didn’t realize that I never had a clear urinalysis test before this pregnancy. Was this a miracle? I think so….
When I delivered my son, I held him close, kissed the top of his precious head, and softly said, “I made it.”
As a sickly little girl with severe chronic kidney disease I heard doctors said that I might never reach adulthood, but I did. They also explained that if I lived and married I was never to bear children because the strain on the kidneys would be too severe and could cause my death. Well! I did grow up and I did get married. And about six months after the wedding, I thought I was pregnant.
My visit to a gynecologist brought about the need for a urinalysis and a rabbit test. (Sixty one years ago, that was the only pregnancy test.) That meant anxiously waiting by the telephone for an answer. It finally rang and yes, I was pregnant. I inquired about the results of the urinalysis. “Perfectly clear,” came the doctor’s voice, “I’ll see you in three weeks.” He didn’t know what he was telling me, he didn’t understand about the warnings, he didn’t realize that I never had a clear urinalysis test before this pregnancy. Was this a miracle? I think so….
When I delivered my son, I held him close, kissed the top of his precious head, and softly said, “I made it.”
Two years later, I decided that I wanted another baby. “Please don’t,” my mother said “Remember how hard the labor was. Remember the serious water-weight. Remember the blood transfusion. It’s too risky, please don’t.” But I wanted another baby, a baby girl to love and dress and cuddle.”
When I delivered my daughter, I looked down at her sweet face, kissed the top of her curly head and whispered in her ear, “I made it."
When I became a single mother I needed to be gainfully employed in order to provide for my children. I found employment as a contract-hire in the graphic arts department of McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Corporation. I was a supervisor, covering all activities of contract hire personnel, but still punching a time clock, still having my purse examined as I entered and left work and all in spite of my Top Security Clearance. So when I was called to the Employment Office and offered a permanent job with the company, I said “No, I will never punch a time clock as an employee of a major corporation. I will only consider a managerial position.” Managers don’t punch time clocks or have their purses searched. But you don’t expect to get what you want if you ask for the moon and I was asking for the impossible. Few if any women held such positions at that time and certainly none without a college degree. So I returned to my desk and was again surprised by a call that asked me to come to the employment office. There I learned that they had decided to accept my years of experience, in lieu of education, to qualify me for the position of Systems Analyst. That was a managerial position and I accepted.
As I left the office, I took a couple of quick dance steps and said to myself “I made it.”
In the years that followed I had my own floral design company selling to stores such as Bullocks, Saks Fifth Avenue, Virginia’s Gift Shop at Knott’s Berry Farm, Disney Hotel Gift Shop and many others. I also developed a product for use by florists and promoted it at floral conventions throughout the country. When the warnings on the product became too severe, I closed the business and began seeking employment, Once again, Volt Technical Corporation employed me. This time working as a saleslady selling contract hire personnel to customers in Los Angeles. It was through my work that I met Tom West of 3M Company. He later employed me and I began my fifteen year employment with 3M.
I started in the Audio Visual Division conducting seminars for potential buyers. I enjoyed the work, but it was not what I had hoped for. I wanted sales and I was qualified for sales. However, most of the sales-force were very young men. No women. Still, I thought, “In time it will happen.” And it did. I became one of the first women to be employed as an outside sales representative for 3M Company. First in the Business Products Division. Later in the Audio Visual Division where I worked for ten years and all the while I wanted to achieve the special VIP award. It was a yearly award given to the very few whose performance of excellence exceeded all others. I received many awards while I inched my way to the top one and finally in 1981 I received a telegram announcing that the award was mine.
I sank into a chair, lit a cigarette with all the sophistication of a Bette Davis, slowly blew out the smoke and said with great dignity, “I made it.”
These were the big “I made it’s.” The smaller ones were also important and there were many. I especially recall my watching TV on New Years Eve 2000 and remembering, when I was very young, how excited I thought it would be to see the turn of the century. Now at 86 I’m wondering if, when I die, will I be accepted at the pearly gates?
I know that if I am, I will surely breath a sigh of relief when I say, “I made it.”
When I delivered my daughter, I looked down at her sweet face, kissed the top of her curly head and whispered in her ear, “I made it."
When I became a single mother I needed to be gainfully employed in order to provide for my children. I found employment as a contract-hire in the graphic arts department of McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Corporation. I was a supervisor, covering all activities of contract hire personnel, but still punching a time clock, still having my purse examined as I entered and left work and all in spite of my Top Security Clearance. So when I was called to the Employment Office and offered a permanent job with the company, I said “No, I will never punch a time clock as an employee of a major corporation. I will only consider a managerial position.” Managers don’t punch time clocks or have their purses searched. But you don’t expect to get what you want if you ask for the moon and I was asking for the impossible. Few if any women held such positions at that time and certainly none without a college degree. So I returned to my desk and was again surprised by a call that asked me to come to the employment office. There I learned that they had decided to accept my years of experience, in lieu of education, to qualify me for the position of Systems Analyst. That was a managerial position and I accepted.
As I left the office, I took a couple of quick dance steps and said to myself “I made it.”
In the years that followed I had my own floral design company selling to stores such as Bullocks, Saks Fifth Avenue, Virginia’s Gift Shop at Knott’s Berry Farm, Disney Hotel Gift Shop and many others. I also developed a product for use by florists and promoted it at floral conventions throughout the country. When the warnings on the product became too severe, I closed the business and began seeking employment, Once again, Volt Technical Corporation employed me. This time working as a saleslady selling contract hire personnel to customers in Los Angeles. It was through my work that I met Tom West of 3M Company. He later employed me and I began my fifteen year employment with 3M.
I started in the Audio Visual Division conducting seminars for potential buyers. I enjoyed the work, but it was not what I had hoped for. I wanted sales and I was qualified for sales. However, most of the sales-force were very young men. No women. Still, I thought, “In time it will happen.” And it did. I became one of the first women to be employed as an outside sales representative for 3M Company. First in the Business Products Division. Later in the Audio Visual Division where I worked for ten years and all the while I wanted to achieve the special VIP award. It was a yearly award given to the very few whose performance of excellence exceeded all others. I received many awards while I inched my way to the top one and finally in 1981 I received a telegram announcing that the award was mine.
I sank into a chair, lit a cigarette with all the sophistication of a Bette Davis, slowly blew out the smoke and said with great dignity, “I made it.”
These were the big “I made it’s.” The smaller ones were also important and there were many. I especially recall my watching TV on New Years Eve 2000 and remembering, when I was very young, how excited I thought it would be to see the turn of the century. Now at 86 I’m wondering if, when I die, will I be accepted at the pearly gates?
I know that if I am, I will surely breath a sigh of relief when I say, “I made it.”
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