Hi! My name is Catherine Gierlach Kennedy, but my friends call me Cathy. I'm a budding author. My writing always reflects my Polish heritage. As my mother used to say, dobrze, which means good.
In my grade school years, in the 1940's, our entire family was active in our local Polish Club. We children were taught to dance the Krakowiak. We dressed in Polish costumes. A few boys participated, but mostly it was girls. In our hair, we wore wreaths called wianki. Each wianek consisted of a circle of flowers, with streams of multicolored ribbons hanging down into our hair. Our blouses were white, with long wide sleeves. Our skirts were knee length, white with diversely colored ribbons sewn in horizontal rows towards the hem. We wore flat shoes and white socks. Our individual taste was highlighted by a red vest, called a kamizelka. Each had circles and swirls of colored sequins on the fronts and backs. The more sequins, the better. A few had a sequined eagle, a Polish National symbol, from shoulder to waist. In the front, the vest was held together with laces of ribbon. We were usually on a stage. Music was played on an accordion. Sometimes, we danced at our school, too, since it was a Polish school. We danced in the summer, winter, afternoon, and evening. We twirled, dipped and spun. I still smile when I hear the music and say I'd rather dance than breathe.
All my life I've been a caregiver. I have four daughters, and I was a registered nurse for fifty years. After I retired, I decided this time was for me. I have since trained for and completed two marathons, I have gone zip lining and snorkeling in Belize, and I have begun polishing my writing skills that lay dormant for twenty-seven years.
I completed one novel, Matka, which means mother. My current novel, Anna, is now on Amazon. Anna is a about a young woman contemplating joining a cloistered order of nuns in the 1920s and her unexpected adventures.
Any Polish memory you would like to share with me? Go to my Contact Me page and leave a comment.
In my grade school years, in the 1940's, our entire family was active in our local Polish Club. We children were taught to dance the Krakowiak. We dressed in Polish costumes. A few boys participated, but mostly it was girls. In our hair, we wore wreaths called wianki. Each wianek consisted of a circle of flowers, with streams of multicolored ribbons hanging down into our hair. Our blouses were white, with long wide sleeves. Our skirts were knee length, white with diversely colored ribbons sewn in horizontal rows towards the hem. We wore flat shoes and white socks. Our individual taste was highlighted by a red vest, called a kamizelka. Each had circles and swirls of colored sequins on the fronts and backs. The more sequins, the better. A few had a sequined eagle, a Polish National symbol, from shoulder to waist. In the front, the vest was held together with laces of ribbon. We were usually on a stage. Music was played on an accordion. Sometimes, we danced at our school, too, since it was a Polish school. We danced in the summer, winter, afternoon, and evening. We twirled, dipped and spun. I still smile when I hear the music and say I'd rather dance than breathe.
All my life I've been a caregiver. I have four daughters, and I was a registered nurse for fifty years. After I retired, I decided this time was for me. I have since trained for and completed two marathons, I have gone zip lining and snorkeling in Belize, and I have begun polishing my writing skills that lay dormant for twenty-seven years.
I completed one novel, Matka, which means mother. My current novel, Anna, is now on Amazon. Anna is a about a young woman contemplating joining a cloistered order of nuns in the 1920s and her unexpected adventures.
Any Polish memory you would like to share with me? Go to my Contact Me page and leave a comment.