2 pounds, 4 ounces

The next morning she weighed only 1 pound, 8 ounces.

Born on July 18th, three months early in 1959.

No discernible defects. She had to reach five pounds before she could go home. She met the goal just before Thanksgiving. Her mother had returned to work. Her family was the nursing staff, parents were not encouraged to bond. Some scars are invisible, even to the person bearing those scars.

A father was deployed overseas. Years earlier in 1916, both of the grandmother's arrived in New Bedford, MA on the same ship from the Cape Verde Islands. The SV Mystic. It took more than a month to make the passage.

CeCelia found comfort in books, nature and sports. Rosa, the mother, tasked herself to create a curated home environment. She had high expectations of her daughter.

CeCelia also had expectations. Perhaps not the same goals her mother had. Sports was where the girl excelled and found support from coaches. After several years of summer camp, she became a Counselor in Training & Junior Counselor. Then a Counselor and eventually became one of the youngest Program Staff. She took great joy in designing the archery course and equipment in such a way that all the younger kids would have success.

She declared three majors in college and graduated without a direction forward.

That was not unheard of, especially for women. She took jobs where she could find them. Her dedication and manner, with working in health care, was noticed by supervisors and co-workers. Their encouragement prompted the young woman to get one more degree, this time in nursing. She had found her niche.

One might wonder if five months in NICU as an infant, left a lifelong imprint.

It was not all work for CeCelia. She joined a large group of female motorcyclists.

The group, Moving Violations, is still active. This week, CeCelia will pass her heavy leather jacket to a younger member.

How does one condense a life into a few paragraphs? Impossible. Especially as she continues to seek new knowledge and skills.

Her first house as an infant. Hyannis.

Now, why have I written this? Because, hundreds of thousands of women will never have their story told. And because YOU just read this, the story continues.

And YOU have your own story.

My story intersects with CeCelia in all the best ways. We are writing new chapters.

Happy Birthday, CeCelia!

Thanks for reading.