Eu as prefera sa vorbesc numai de glume si lucruri care ne pun un zimbet pe fata, si nu mi-e usor (de fapt nu prea vreau sa ma uit in urma la durerea prin care am trecut), dar Dumnezeu ne aduce aminte, ca mai ales in necaz el e cu noi.
P.S. Desi stiu ca Duhul Sfint e cu mine si cu noi constant, in acea perioada mi sa dat voie sa vad si sa inteleg anumite lucruri, de asta spun ca era linga mine, pentru ca era intr-o forma mai vizibila mie.
Umor cu tema realistica si acent moldovenesc:)
Today is Romania’s B-day:) And my sister-in-law Nicol’s B-day as well, thus a hearty Happy B-day to both:)
Here’s a rare video I recorded, due to popular demands:)
First picture. Simona on her baptism day with a local friend.
Second picture. Bunch of friends from the Baptist church Simona and her family attended on her older brother, Alin’s eighteenth B-day Party (not in the picture, in fact I do not have a picture of him). Simona and I are in the back, the two youngest kids there:)
In actuality, Simona is my third cousin on my mother’s side. Same as Mirela, but that’s another story for another time.
It was Simona’s father, Ionel, who enticed my parents to move all the way from Moldova to Transylvania, more precisely to the young city of Hunedoara, where a new steel factory just got built and jobs were “falling from the skies” so to speak. Moldova’s economy was in ruin, not sure if much of that changed today, and most of the young people migrated south, west and east all over the country, where jobs were easier to come by. Sergiu was the first-born in Hunedoara, (Alin and I were born in Botosani). My young parents moved to Hunedoara in 1976 and left that town only recently, moving closer to their remaining children in Romania. The move was unexpected and sudden due to my mother’s declining health.
Unlike me, Simona grew up in a much smaller family. Her only sibling was an older brother, Alin. The age and gender gap forced a lonely Simona childhood on Simona. However, during her adolescence that loneliness was well-balanced with a very active social life in the local Baptist church she attended. There she began her singing career and her lovely voice is also passed down to her one and only daughter.
Both her parents worked which it simply meant a better financial life, overshadowed by the high pressures for academic success. My parents never seemed to have time or interest about our academic success and we surprised ourselves how well we still did in spite of that. Simona’s parents on the other hand were hands on, diligent and persistent. Learning English was one of those academic demands and I was very glad she learned the foreign language, especially after I met Chet. I would take my letters and run all the way to her apartment eager to find out what Chet wrote to me. After words, with a dreamy expression on our faces, we would lie down on her sofa or sit outside on her enclosed balcony wondering what a married life had to offer to our livers or how different American life was from ours. I would soon found out about both. I knew I was blessed with Chet in my life, and I saw the longing in many of my female friends but I couldn’t do anything about it except share pieces of this unique experience with some of them. Simona and I sure shared some nice times together:) Younger by a couple of year we hung out with each other only when we were allowed by our parents. I had a couple rare and precious sleep overs at her apartment and I loved the quietness, the books she had and the board games we played. Also the food, hmm, she always had good food:)
My first “majorat” as it is called in Romanian, which stands for turning eighteen, the age when you’re considered an adult in Europe, meaning you can drink (which we did not do) it was for Alin, Simona’s older brother-second picture. I was young both in age and mind, naive and gullible. In fact, Simona and I were the youngest two out of everyone there and tried hard to fit in and play along the fun games that were totally foreign to me. I lost a lot and tried to keep up a brave facade but I had a wonderful time that evening. The Christian parties of that time were very safe and had such an innocence to the whole experience, something I appreciated both then and later on in life.
Well, my little cuz (short for cousin) was a fresh breath of air for me, and I do remember one of my best friends having a crush on her, something that brought a touch of jealousy in my heart at the time:)))))
While in a three-day fever unconscious state, between the ages of 10-13 years old (can’t remember exactly), I do remember in one of my brief waking moments, Simona’s mother, miss Ghinuta, sitting with my mother by my bed side holding a bag of apples, apples she brought along for us. I always preferred fruits over deserts. I opened my eyes and they were talking to each other only to slip back into darkness for another twenty hours. Miss Ghinuta and her husband Ionel were always nice to me. Alin too, even though her liked to tease us any chance he got. At least his sense of humor was not dangerous and painful:)
Simona, if you read this, and I hope you will, I miss you and I look forward one day to see you and catch up on life:))))))
Thank you God for my cuz:)
Crezind ca e fetita, parintii lui Chet i-au ales numele Jill, si au fost foarte surprinsi cind Chet a intrat pe lume ca baiat:) Ca frate mai mic, Chet a avut o copilarie normala, si numai un singur frate mai mare, Mark, care ia facut necaz prin intaritarile copilaresti.
De la bun inceput Chet a fost un copil dragut cu o personalitate buna si calma, placindu-i mult cartile de benzi desenate, motocicletele si tobele. In clasa a 7-a a intrat in fanfara scolii la tobe si la 13 ani si-a strins destui bani (a muncit pentru ei) ca sa-si poata cumpara prima motoreta.
Ca adolescent, Chet era prea timid si rusinos sa vorbeasca cu fetele preferind compania prietenilor lui; Ion, Mike si Jeff. Impreuna au facut multe nazbitii pe acea perioada. A doua zi dupa ce a terminat liceul sa mutat cu bunicul lui in Seattle, unde a avut o serie de pozitii de munca. La 19 ani, si-a dedicat viata lui Dumnezeu (Chet nu a crescut crestin si parintii lui nu sint crestini dar sint oameni de treaba) si sa hotarit sa invete cum sa lucreze cu miinile in caz ca Dumnezeu l-ar fi chemat in cimpul misionar. Asa ca sa mutat in Bremerton, si a inceput sa lucreze in constructii timp de doi ani. Asa a aflat ca ura domeniul de constructii si sa mutat inapoi la parintii lui, unde seara si-a continuat clasele de facultate dar in timpul zilei lucra la o companie de curent electric, pe urma la UPS. Atunci a salvat multi bani, pentru scoala de aviator dar Razboiul din Golf, care a inceput in 1990, i-a taiat visul.
Mark, fratele lui mai mare care numai ce a absolvit facultatea de video si film, l-a convins sa intre in business impreuna. Chet si Mark au inceput o cariera in domeniul filmului si a luat ceva timp pina sau stabilit financiar.
Intre timp, o echipa de misionari din biserica la care mergea Mark, condusa de John Stabb, au plecat in Romania si l-au convins si pe Chet sa mearga ca cameraman. Acolo m-a intilnit pe mine, m-a cerut in casatorie si a venit inapoi dupa cinci luni, dupa care am facut nunta si tot in anul acela, in Octombrie, am venit impreauna in America. Impreauna avem trei copii, Merrill, Meleah si Alex, si ducem o viata buna, multumim lui Dumnezeu:)
Ca tata Chet este extraordinar, si i-a placut din totdeauna sa petreaca timp cu copii. Vazind familia mea mare din Romania, Chet a vrut multi copii dar datorita sanatatii mele subrede ne-am oprit la trei.
Ca sot, Chet este excellent:) E un om calm, chibzuit si intelept. Impreuna am trecut prin multe dar datorita credintei si ajutorului lui Dumenzeu le-am trecut cu bine pe toate.
Azi e ziua lui:) Si ii doresc toata fericirea posibila din lume si sanatate maxima, ca merita:)
Te iubim mult Chet si fara tine viata noastra nu ar fi asa de frumoasa. Multumesc Bunului Dumnezeu pentru un asa tata, sot si om bun:)
Meant to be a Jill (his mom though Chet was going to be a girl and both parents were very surprised when Chet turned out a boy:), Chet was born in a young family of three. His older brother, Mark, is his only other sibling.
As a young boy Chet was very cute and his sweet personality was a breath of fresh air. His childhood was a normal one, shadowed now and then by his older brother’s teasing episodes. From an early age, Chet became fascinated with comic books, motorcycles and drums. As a result he began played drums in 7th grade, worked and purchased his first motorcycle at the young age of thirteen and owned a few nice comings books which he read often, loosing himself in the fascinating world of superheroes.
As a teenager he was extremely shy when it came to his interaction with the opposite sex and kept busy with his small gang of friends; John Adams, Mike Swanzey and Jeff Reid, getting in a bit of mischievousness.
After high-school, Chet moved out of Kingston and lived with his grandfather, Charlie, in Seattle. He had a series of odd jobs, some lasting only two weeks. At the age of nineteen Chet became a believer and wanting to be prepared for the mission field, in case he felt a calling in that direction, he moved to Bremerton where he began working in construction for couple of years. Not cut out for construction work, Chet moved back in with his parents, worked for Puget Sound and continued his collage night classes education. During this time he saved a good amount of money intent on going into the aviation school then career, but the start of the Golf War in 1990 put a stop to that dream.
His brother, Mark, who just graduated from film and video college pulled him into a new direction- a career in film and video production. Together they began a small business, that took a while to get off the ground.
In 1993, Chet got on a plane to Romania as a videographer of a local missionary team from Bainbridge Island leaded by John Stabb and met me, Carmen:) Six months later he returned to Romania, we got married and came back to America in October of the same year. Together, we had three children: Merrill, Meleah and Alex. Chet had a few jobs but slowly prospered in his film and video field, specializing in video editing. Today he works full-time at Amazon as a video editor and he absolutely loves it.
As a family man he moved around quite a bit, and settled in Seattle for the time being.
As a father, Chet is fantastic. His patience and common sense have been a God sent blessing and he absolutely loves spending time with his children.
As a husband Chet is the best. His patience and understanding helped me get over some part trauma, something I’m sure wasn’t easy on him at times but Chet was committed from the moment he said “I do.” He still owns comic books, a motorcycle and loves playing drums (even if not as often as he would like) and we have a great life together. To me Chet was absolutely God sent and I love spending my life along-side him. I absolutely love his dimples when he smiles:)
Today, is Chet’s B-day!!!!! Happy B-day my love and I wish you all the happiness in the world. The other emotions are more private and meant only for him;)
Thank you God for blessing this world with such a great man like Chet McKnight, and I know I speak for my kids and all the people that know him when I say: Chet’s a really great guy:)
Post umoristic facut de fratele meu Flavius si colega lui de la postul radio crestin rve.timisoara.
O zi binecuvintata la toti:)
Chet Thomas & Carmen McKnight- August 15-1993
Sergiu Florin & Brigitte Damean- August 24-1998
Marius & Veronica Damean- September 29-2001
Damean Delia & Mal Samuel- October 13-2007
Iosif Ilie & Daniela Damean- July (Iulie) 30-2005
Flavius Raul & Adina Damean- August 02-2008
Tiberiu & Nicole Damean- August 04-2015
Iulian & Cornelia Damean- August 24-2013
Alexandru Liviu & Mia Damean- June (Iunie) 30-2012
Oana Maria & Alexandru Rotaroaia- March (Martie) 29-2014
First picture; left to right, me in my second or third grade, clearly uncomfortable:)
Second picture; Chet and I on our wedding day. The malnourishment made me light:)
Third picture; my family as of last week, Chet, Merrill, Alex and Meleah:)
Writing about one self its a bit deceiving; you’re either too biased or too hard on yourself and overall one sided.
I’ve had a few nick-names so its hard to pick just one. Is it Carmen the Dreamer, the Writer, the Fighter, the Captain or the Ice Queen? It’s all of them, I suppose.
Born the first of twelve siblings, my life was both wonderful and hard. My birth wasn’t without its challenges. Shots of Vit. D and Iron for the first year or so, along other health issues somehow gave the doctor the right to pressure my mother into killing me. It wasn’t just my health issues that triggered such a decision but compiled to that it was his deep hatered towards christians. You see, I was a seedling of a very hated group of people in my part of the world at the time and I was not alone. In an atheistic world, being born a Christian was dangerous, and we have the scars to prove it.
A “sensitive soul”, with an over-developed ability or gift of empathy I collected other’s pain in my heart as if my life depended on it. The society’s abuse towards us made sense to me- we were a moral danger to a movement that thrived on egocentricity and cruelty. But our father’s abuse towards us never made sense to me. In times when one must stick with each other in an environment called “home”, meaning “safe”, he became our number one enemy, burning all my ideologies on “safe home” right out of my heart. However, beyond reasons I couldn’t understand and logic I couldn’t explain, except to call it hope, with every rare smile, joke or laughter my father had, a fragile hope seed grew in my heart “maybe he’ll change”. The hope lasted no longer than mere fragments of time until the next wave of darkness took a hold of him. Books, that’s where I found my refuge, not church, society or social interactions. That’s where I could dream freely and imagine the world I wanted to live in. I think I was a bit of a loner, yet with a great deal of charisma.
Being the oldest, I worked constantly skipping on childhood and adolescence all together.
Right after high school, I began working twelve hours shifts, seven days a week at an ice-cream and soda-pop kiosk, very popular at the time. I was very greatful for my $6 a month salary, it was similar to my father’s salary. I was not allowed to go to collage, due to my gender and lack of money, something that made me very bitter at the time.
God to me was just another tyrant figure, unhappy, abusive, not nice at all, yet someone I kept on hearing that somehow “loved me.” I wanted nothing to do with this God but didn’t dare communicate that to my parents. A missionary changed all that. He brought along with him stories of a very powerful and nice God, similar to Jesus in the New Testament (the church loved the mean and angry Old Testament God) and I fell in love for the very first time with God. Willingly, I wanted to have a relationship with this new image of God, not the one in the church. I began a new walk, a happy and light walk with God.
After the 1989 fall of communism revolution in most of the Estern European block, charitable help came into the country in the form of clothes, shoes, and monthly food supplies. “If I ever get rich, I’ll do the same.” A prayer shot up to the heavens from a thankful heart and put in practice soon after.
In 1993 I was rescued by this super handsome and tall young man, Chet, who was part of a missionary team from America. The engagement and wedding was a big source of gossip and wonder. We married on August 15th, in Romania. A very unusual wedding since the bride and groom couldn’t talk to each other:) Leaving Romania and coming to America on October 15th, was one of the most stressful things I lived through. Not because of Chet, my new husband, but everything else: leaving my family, who I no longer could protect, entering a new land with new traditions I din’t understand and no one familiar to communicate with. Halloween was a weird and dark first impression of American holidays, only the small kids dressed in cute costumes brought a smile to my face, all other gore did not. My parents-in-law were a hugeeeeee support during that time.
I had my first born, Merrill, in 1995, followed quickly by my second, Meleah, in 1996 and then our surprise, Alex, in 1993, (I was pregnant with Alex when I flew back to Romania to see Fanu in the hospital, but I did not know I was pregnant). I had a few jobs: babysitting, sells rep at the Gap, preschool teacher, writer, real-estate agent, home design and massage therapist. I’ve never been more fulfilled in my work field, like when I’m writing.
Most of you know that in January of 2014, I fell ill, an illness that almost took my life and I’m still fighting it, getting better each day, with the occasional relapses, which are still far too often than I like to admit.
I’m very happy now, even if in pain most days. Every day I’m greatful to God for allowing me another day on this wonderful planet and among my loved ones. Life is very normal, and calm (I need to keep it calm and stress-free) and mundane but I love it:) Thank you God for my life:)
Journey 