Sometimes you do get lemonade

Hello, Patch People! I'm back after a lengthy absence from blogging, which I had thoroughly enjoyed except for the mean spirited comments some people felt inclined to post. A blog by definition is the author's opinion(s) on a given topic. You are free to agree, disagree, feel moved or feel nothing at all, but please, as I was told a million times during my formative years, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. You're free to write your own blog to contradict mine if you feel it necessary. Thank you! In November of 2011, I wrote a blog for the Milford Patch entitled "Kids Are Precious". In responding to one of the comments posted after the blog appeared, I told a story about my middle school gym teacher, Mr. Turner - Mr. Mosby Turner, to be exact. I had endured cruelty and criticism at his hands to the degree of what these days would be labeled emotional abuse - and if any teacher today ever spoke to a student the way Mosby Turner did, that teacher would be fired immediately and most likely become the defendant in a lawsuit. Not long after the blog was posted, I heard from Mary MacDonald, who said she had been contacted by a woman who read the post and wanted to be put in touch with me. Enter Linda, who was a year ahead of me in school, although we never knew each other. She had also suffered the exact same treatment throughout Turner's gym class that I had. Linda and I began sending each other copious emails, comparing stories and getting acquainted and not long after that, we met for coffee and have become fast friends. We had even more in common than we knew about. Turns out I once went on a date with her husband (long before they met). Life handed both of us lemons in the form of a hateful, sadistic teacher named Mosby Turner and decades later, we've made lemonade. Today is my friend Linda's birthday. Happy Birthday, Linda!