Whitney Young High School 50^th Anniversary Planning

I met with the administration and the art department about incorporating more textiles within the Whitney Young High School 50^th anniversary event planning. I was given directives: Because the school colors were orange and blue and the mascot was a dolphin, anything I created had to be orange and blue and/or have a dolphin. A drawing was made using a pen and computer paper by administration which had a capital “W” at the top of the page, a capital “Y” at the bottom of the page and a number “50” in the middle of the page which was supposed to be gold. We discussed multiple textiles projects. Me being me, I wanted to develop every last one of them, as I felt myself just coming to life at the creative brainstorming think tank I was immersed in.

I contacted Whitney Young High School alumni, their family and their friends. Some said they had no idea that the school was having a 50^th anniversary celebrations and were excited to share in the festivities by yarn bombing a car. During the four years of working with my patient, I worked at Whitney Young High School as a one-on-one nurse and was paid for my services as a nurse only.

I grew up reading Marva Collins’ books and watching the CBS movie about her life. Everyone around me had great respect for the personal sacrifices she made for her students. I did not see myself doing anything differently. I thought that this is what educators did. Certainly, nurses also did the same thing. I had a beloved aunt who had a Ph.D. in English who taught high school for 45 years. Each year, she took her students on a trip somewhere: New York for the Broadway shows, Orlando for Disney World. She was even the English teacher to Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens.

Further, even though my family is not affluent, but we have always believed in the value of an education. I grew up watching my parents fund raise for the elementary school I attended. That behavior was modeled to me and I thought fundraising for school was something that was normal and what everyone did. The Whitney Young High School 50^th anniversary yarn bombing was a literal labor of love.

The Whitney Young High School yarn bombing project raised $1,000.00 for the school.

Xenobia Bailey

The first time I learned about yarn bombing was when I learned about Xenobia Bailey. There was an article written about her in Essence magazine after she’d crocheted one of director Spike Lee’s movie sets. There was a picture of her seated in front of one of her creations.

The term “yarn bombing” had not been used. We just said, “She crochets movie sets.” And that is what she did.

Years later, when I took formal knitting classes, I spent a lot of time in yarn shops, in libraries, in thrift stores, looking through books. I was looking for the name of the Afghan pattern my paternal grandmother had on her couch when I was growing up. The book that contained my grandmother’s Afghan pattern was called, “Mason Dixon Knitting by Kay Gardiener and Ann Shayne. The Afghan pattern was called log cabin knitting. There was also a picture and a small article about Xenobia Bailey contained within the book.

That book was a constant companion of mine. I adored log cabin knitting. I especially liked the article on Xenobia Bailey. With the advancement of technology including personal websites, and YouTube, I was able to keep up with Xenobia Bailey a little better.

I told everyone I knew when she did the Funktional Vibrations mosaic for the 468^th subway station opening in New York in 2015.

I literally cheered her on from a distance and not knowing that one day, I would yarn bomb a car for Whitney Young High School.

The Car on the Whitney Young High School Sidewalk Would Look Better With Yarn

One morning when my patient and I arrived at Whitney Young High School, there was a Nissan Versa sitting on the sidewalk in front of the school. I had never seen a car parked on the sidewalk in front of a school before.

This was a first for me.

There was no need for coffee. I was wide awake. I knew from talking with the staff that the car would be auctioned and the money would be given to the school. I’d seen these types of fundraisers before as a healthcare worker, but when I saw it, yarn bombing was involved.

As a fifth generation textiles enthusiast, I thought, “That car would look better with yarn.”

My patient/student and I love Best Buddies art class! Best Buddies is a non-for-profit organization that creates relationships and opportunities with people who have a diverse range of disabilities.

Whitney Young High School has a Best Buddies art class. Within the class, students who do not have special needs or disabilities are paired with students who do have special needs and disabilities.

The instructor educates the students about artists from an array of visual media, including, but not limited to late artist Keith Herring. Keith Herring created the Best Buddies logo because one of his own family members was medically compromised and very dependent on their medical staff.

The artwork is amazing. The bonds that are created are memorable. Some students go to college within majors that will allow them to do work that is similar to their experience in the Best Buddies art class.

I had never had an artistic experience like this before and I loved it. Sometimes we went outside to create art, which was a reprieve from the cold winters when the weather was warmer. At the end of the year, there is a big art exhibition with food, live music and an all-around wonderful time.

As I bought my patient’s artwork home, his mother proclaimed, “This is so cool! We are going to open an art gallery for you!”

It wasn’t long after I started working as a one-on-one nurse at Whitney Young High School that the staff learned that I sewed. I showed pictures of the textiles I’d created from my iPhone. I call myself a fifth-generation textiles enthusiast. My maternal great great grandparents owned their own sewing business.

My family knits, quilts, crochets, embroiders, makes garments and weaves. I spent a good portion of my childhood watching them create the most amazing textiles I’ve ever seen that I still have in our family collection. I knew that when I grew up, I would carry on the family tradition by reading books and taking formal classes. I participated in art exhibitions at Hyde Park Art Center and Macy’s on State Street for their garden festival through the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

At the suggestion of my first museum curator, I was placed in touch with her friends who were Chicago Public School teachers and helped their classes make a community quilt project that were displayed in Seaway Bank. Later, I helped the University of Chicago Lab School with their community quilt projects that were displayed in the Gordon Parks Art Center.

I shared all of this information.

“You know, we usually plan a year to two years in advance, but the Whitney young High School 50^th anniversary is coming. We should talk about having you make something at some point. The school colors are orange and blue. The mascot is a dolphin,” the art department told me.

“I would absolutely love to,” I said. After that, I went to thrift stores looking for fabric and sewing supplies. In sewing circles, if anyone was giving away anything, I took it and thanked them profusely. I took advantage of every sale at Michaels when I learned about it.

One day, one of my uncles saw my sewing collection and said, “I don’t believe this! You have enough yarn and fabric to open your own store.”

I called it manifestation.

December 2022

A few days after the Michelle Obama event was my father’s birthday. We celebrated with me bringing home his favorite steak dinner, flowers (I personally feel men can have flowers, okay?), ballons, and a birthday card. My father is a very straight forward person: Place him in front of a television with a game being played by his favorite Chicago sports team, his favorite steak dinner, the local newspaper and he is happy.

I wanted to be sure I did all I could do for both of my parents before my father’s surgeries, which went well. I would like to say thank you to his healthcare team.  

My father worked at the Smithfield Plant when I was growing up. He was a butcher and he came home with injuries from his job. I learned to cleanse and bandage his wounds. And it wasn’t just him. Many people in my family worked at the Smithfield Plant and I did the same thing with them.

When my father was in the military, he was exposed to chemical warfare and spent four months in a military hospital where he almost died, thousands of miles away from his family. It was hearing things like this that also led to me becoming a nurse so that I would be able to better care for my aging parents.

During Covid, telehealth had completely taken off. I was able to use facetime technology to check in on my parents. I must admit that if this had not occurred, it may have been harder for me to accept the job I have at Whitney Young High School.

In the end, there was nothing to worry about, but I worried anyway. We were still in the middle of a major pandemic. I am an only child, and these were my only parents.

Tuesday, December 6, 2022, 8 pm

The Chicago Theatre

Michelle Obama: The Light We Carry Tour Appearance

I got my mother her combined birthday and Christmas present by taking her to the Michelle Obama “The Light We Carry” tour appearance and buying her and my father the book. My father was waiting for his surgeries, wasn’t feeling well and stayed at home. I took pictures of her standing under the illuminated Chicago Theatre “Michelle Obama December 5 & 6” sign. We also took selfies together and texted them to my father.

I was grateful we were able to go to this event together.

Dementia runs in our family, and I had a feeling that it may occur with my mother. She was exhibiting the first signs even then, forgetting to close and lock doors and where she placed her belongings.

As a nurse, I’d taken care of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease before. Reminiscing is especially important, so I made sure I took a lot of pictures and video for her to share at a later time if I needed to.

I wore a gold blouse after having seen Michelle Obama in a pair of gold go go disco boots that my mother owned and wore in the 1970s. It reminded me of the Bible verse Job: 23:10: But he who knows the way I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” I felt it was a befitting wardrobe choice after the Obamas’ two terms in the White House.  

My college friend came from Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born and raised in Chicago like me, but her family moved for work and she went with them. We were all looking forward to this event as soon as it was announced in September 2022.

We just made a day out of it starting at 6:30 am with breakfast at a local restaurant, going to Shed Aquarium and then lunch at the Whole Foods on Canal Street.  

We all agreed that Michelle Obama’s interview was excellent as was to be expected and the book she wrote as well as the phony pony and jumpsuit were lit!

DJ Nice was incredible! We called family and friends on facetime for them to dance to the music, even if it was on their cell phones.

I got my mother her favorite hot beverage: medicine ball from Starbucks with extra honey and lemon. As we shared cups of medicine ball together, my mother asked me about my new job. People being curious came into our conversation asking, “You work at Whitney Young High School?’

“Yes!” my mother replied. “My daughter works at Whitney Young High School.”

My mama was proud of me.

Monday, December 5^th, 2022

I spent the first week of employment within my patient’s home. By December 2022, we went into Whitney Young High School. The last time I was here I was 17 years old and I was inducted into the National Honors Society. We had to participate in the Special Olympics. The Special Olympics was held at Whitney Young High School. I personally loved every minute of it. I knew even then I wanted to become a nurse, but the staff having observed my interaction with the patients/students felt I would be a good fit and said, “You know you’re really good at this. You should consider getting a job here.”  

I was too young to know how to ask more questions. I also knew I wanted to be a writer even since I was a child. I had healthcare workers in my family who regaled me with stories about their job when they came home. They also read books and gifted them to me when they were done reading them. One of those books was Coma by Robin Cook. I was mesmerized with the idea that you could be a healthcare worker and writer at the same time. My parents took me into bookstores, patted the countertop and said, “Get whatever you want,” and purchased the books I chose. One of my family members even made her place in Chicago crime history as a nurse. Not because she committed a crime, but she worked as a nurse in areas of Chicago where famous crimes that were made into Discovery Investigation profiles many years later. My interest in healthcare and storytelling was initiated and there was no turning back.

Learning begins at home. 

Returning to Whitney Young High School as a one-to-one nurse to my patient, I realized that you didn’t need to be a student to deeply appreciate the school and even help the students. Whitney Young High School actually looked much the same as it did when I was in high school and there were even more pictures and memorabilia of their famous alumni hanging from the walls. A feeling of familiarity overtook me.

Somehow or another, it seemed like I had come full circle into something, but I didn’t know what.  

Saturday, October 22^nd, 2022, 2 pm

I met with my new patient and family today. The family speaks four languages in their home. My new patient’s family have gone out of their way to make the bedroom as homelike and inviting as possible with nature scenes painted on the walls and paintings from local and international artists offering well wishes for my patient’s continued good health and recovery.

“We try to keep things as normal as possible,” his parents said.

My new patient’s parents have heard since he was born that he was supposed to die by the age of 5. Their son has turned 13 and they are super grateful. I’ve seen and heard these types of stories having worked in nursing at that time for 21 years. The truth of the matter is that the only one who knows your beginning and end is God. Patients and cases like this are fun for nurses like me because we get to prove the doctors wrong.

 “What school will he attend?” I asked.

“Whitney Young High School,” his mother replied.

With all due respect to the famous alumni, but everyone in Chicago always knew that Whitney Young High School is da bomb diggity!  Whitney Young High School was great before these individuals became students there. It just got better when the alumni arrived and even better after they left to do great things.

The plan for me before I went to high school was for me to attend Whitney Young High School, but my family moved and I attended high school elsewhere. All my life, it was in the back of my mind, “How might my life have been different had I attended Whitney Young High School?”

Sniffle. . .  Pass the tissue. . .

It was one of those things that I would rehash in the middle of the night or when I awakened to face the day. And exactly how many people get a chance to do high school all over again without having your parents to yell at you about having to do your homework?

Taking this job meant listening to the urging of my heart and my spirit.

“I will be your child’s nurse,” I told them.

     I received “the call” from a mutual acquaintance of my future Whitney Young High School patient/student on my cell phone. I was about to not pick it up. It was the middle of the Covid pandemic and RSV flu season. I received many calls asking me to take ventilator nursing jobs, even though I already had one, well before the Covid pandemic. I had been a nurse for 21 years at that point and I wanted to quit. I was an only child. I had two elderly parents. They were scared for me. I was scared for them. I just had received word that my father would need 3 surgeries the following year, one where part of his scalp would be removed. He was an army veteran who had been involved in an explosion in the military where he had shrapnel.  After the military, he went to college and worked at the Smithfield Plant for nearly 45 years. My mother had worked in a bank in Chicago for 25 years, then became a teacher’s aide for another 20 years. Both were retired.

     But instead, I took the call: “We have a child who has not been to school in 3 months. He is a Whitney Young High School student with severe respiratory issues. We know you are a ventilator nurse who works with patients with severe respiratory difficulty. Would you be willing to take the job and be a one-to-one nurse for this child?”

     “Why don’t you do a meet and greet? If you really want to walk away, you can,” he said.

     My logic said, “Quit nursing like everybody else.” My heart and spirit said, “Go and see this family.”

     “When and where would the meeting take place,” I asked.