When I was very young, my dad, Bill Gillis, Jr., decided to create a Japanese rock garden in our side yard in Miami. He wanted it to stretch along the back fence all the way to the rose garden he had planted for my mom. It seemed an ambitious project, but my dad was upContinueContinue reading “Building a Japanese Rock Garden with My Dad”
Category Archives: Janet’s Stories
Thursday Nights and Libbyland TV Dinners: A 1970s Memory
When I was growing up, my mom (Joy Washburn Gillis) cooked very healthy meals for our family dinners. She had to put thought and care into each recipe because my dad (William Gillis, Jr.) had a heart condition. Breakfast was often cereal and fruit. Lunch was usually a sandwich. But she insisted that we enjoyContinueContinue reading “Thursday Nights and Libbyland TV Dinners: A 1970s Memory”
My Handkerchief Shirt
In elementary school in the late 1970s, I made my own handkerchief shirt. It was for the Junior Girl Scouts sewing badge, called the Needlecraft badge. I had never tried to sew before, but I wanted to earn every badge. My mom, Joy Gillis, an expert seamstress, was determined to help me. My mom andContinueContinue reading “My Handkerchief Shirt”
Chicken Pox in Warsaw
In the summer of 1987, I studied as an American college student in Poznan, Poland. I was in a group of about 10 American students. We lived in the dorm with Polish students. One of the Polish students had a three-year-old boy who loved visiting our room. He was especially fascinated with my makeup. DoorsContinueContinue reading “Chicken Pox in Warsaw”
Meeting Dad at Dinner Key
When I was growing up in Miami, one evening every year, my mom (Joy Washburn Gillis) and I packed a picnic dinner and drove to Dinner Key Auditorium. My dad (William Gillis, Jr.), an avionics engineer for Eastern Airlines, would drive from his office at Miami International Airport and meet us. Located on Biscayne BayContinueContinue reading “Meeting Dad at Dinner Key”
Flashback to 1977: Snow in Miami
Today is a very cool anniversary—no pun intended. On this day back in 1977, it snowed in Miami, Florida. I was there. I was in my math class at Miami Shores Elementary. The side of the classroom was covered with a wall of windows, and suddenly this white fluff was floating down. Snow flurries! IContinueContinue reading “Flashback to 1977: Snow in Miami”
Memories of Learning Russian with Rita
My favorite memories of living as an American in Russia in the late 1990s include the early evenings I spent in the kitchen, sharing in Russian conversation with Rita, the mother of the family I lived with. All these years later, I remember it like it was yesterday. Rita spoke a little English and aContinueContinue reading “Memories of Learning Russian with Rita”
When Taffy Cat Adopted Us
When I was in kindergarten, an orange-and-white striped tabby cat showed up in our yard. She sat on the porch with me after school and showed no inclination to leave. I patted her, and she just hung out. My mom told me not to give the cat water or food because then she wouldn’t leave.ContinueContinue reading “When Taffy Cat Adopted Us”
The First—and Last—Thanksgiving Turkey I Ever Cooked
In the late 1980s, I moved from Florida to Massachusetts for graduate school. It was my first Thanksgiving away from home, and I was expecting visitors: my fiance, my niece who was a college student in a nearby town, and one of her college friends. I was determined to do the full meal deal forContinueContinue reading “The First—and Last—Thanksgiving Turkey I Ever Cooked”
The Beauty of an Ordinary Moment in Belarus
I crossed the border between Russia and Belarus at a tumultuous time in the late 1990s. I had a lot to worry about—and to be excited about. I’m amazed at how, so many years later, what stands out in my memory isn’t the dramatic backdrop. It’s an ordinary moment with a student whose name IContinueContinue reading “The Beauty of an Ordinary Moment in Belarus”
Exploring Generations 