My original plan was to attend the University of Delaware, graduate with a B. S. in secondary education, and be a high school history teacher. I assumed I would eventually marry, have a family, and NOT settle in Livingston, New Jersey. At the time I wanted to see what was beyond Livingston, Essex County, and even New Jersey. This was my itinerary for “Rome”.

During my second year at the University of Delaware, I realized that although I loved history I did not want to teach it. I had two undergraduate classes in law (Business and Constitutional) which piqued my interest. But it was after conversations with a very persuasive UD Sailing Club colleague, sometime between or during the Club’s sails to the Bahamas and the Chesapeake Bay, that I decided to become an attorney. I was accepted to Seton Hall School of Law, returned to my Livingston home, and commuted to Newark to attend.

After law school I started a career in defense litigation with a private law firm. In 1986, I took a position as an Attorney Advisor for the U. S, Small Business Administration – Disaster Assistance Division (SBA-DAD) providing loans to victims of federally-declared disasters to rebuild their lives. This was a position I absolutely loved.

But longevity with the SBA- DAD was not to be. In mid-1988, the SBA-DASD’s regional law departments were consolidated into one location and that location was Texas – a state in which I was not licensed, which did not offer employment opportunities for my new husband, and a state in which I did not want to live!

I married James Boudreau in August 1986. While at UD, I dated Jim, an upper classman from Waterville, Maine. Little did I know that this was just the start of my lifelong connection with Maine and the exceptionally large Boudreau family. We dated for a year but went our separate ways to pursue graduate degrees — New Jersey for me, and Maine and Toronto for Jim. Five years later, a business trip layover in New York City brought us back together and we were engaged soon after.

I left government service in June 1988 and within days of my departure, my oldest son was born. Two more children arrived in quick succession. Three children in three years – J. Robert Jr. (Rob), Jacqueline, and Jeffrey.

Jim worked in New York City during the early years of our marriage. It became apparent after having one baby, soon to be followed by a second one, that our apartment in South Orange was just too small. A house was in order. With Jim’s family living in Maine, being close to my family was a necessity. So, as so many of us LHS graduates have done, we moved back to Livingston.

I really must take the opportunity to point out that the phrase “Jim’s family” sounds manageable and very suburban. His family is neither. Jim was one of eleven children, eight boys and three girls. Later six stepbrothers and stepsisters joined the fray. His father was a French-Canadian immigrant whose large Quebequois family often travelled to Maine. One simply cannot live or work in Kennebec County Maine without running into a Boudreau or one of the dozens of Boudreau cousins. The French-Canadian connection was, and continues to be, sustained by frequent trips to Maine and sometimes Canada.

The years sped by and Jim’s career advanced, requiring longer hours and increased travel. Wanting to leave the corporate life behind and strike out on his own, Jim started his own consulting company. We dreamed of eventually relocating to southern Maine, an area we both loved. I used my talents to support him and the fledgling company. I put my law career on hold to manage the family and support the new venture. Life was very busy!

Unexpectedly, Jim passed away in March 2003, when the children were eleven, twelve, and fourteen. We were a family in survival mode for the next few years. The Smith and Boudreau families stepped in to fill the void and to provide the emotional support we all needed. Our trips to Maine continued, especially for the annual Boudreau Family lobster fete and reunion. As the children grew, our trips included kayaking, boating, fishing, hunting (deer, duck and eventually moose hunting for the boys), skating, ice fishing, hiking, snowshoeing, and travelling to the Gaspe region of Quebec. In the last five years this list grew to include helping with the Boudreau family maple-sugaring business.

My eldest son stayed in New Jersey to earn a degree in civil engineering. The younger two attended colleges in Maine earning degrees in marine biology and conservation law enforcement, respectively. When my youngest graduated from LHS, I followed him to Maine and moved to the quaint town of Kennebunkport (the setting for the TV show “Murder She Wrote”). In Kennebunkport my social circle expanded, and even now, whenever I am in Maine, I stop in K’port. I continue the tradition started years ago of having coffee with my former neighbor, Eileen, in Cape Porpoise, (Kennebunkport) sitting and looking out over Goat Island Light. It remains one of my favorite places.

When the Recession hit Maine in 2011, the impact was widespread. I returned to New Jersey for employment reasons, eventually changing careers from law to legal and regulatory compliance. I started in this field in 2013, and remain in the field with the same company to this day.

These ties to Maine continue to remain strong. In 2018, I joined some of the Boudreau Mainers (nine of us, all between 55 and 65 years of age) went on a two-week tour of Italy. Laughter followed us from Lake Como to Rome, Florence to Venice, Assisi to Sorrento, and Pompeii and Capri to Rome. We had such a good time that we made plans to vacation on Prince Edward Island in September 2020 with even more Boudreaus and many of their Canadian cousins. Unfortunately, COVID and the closing of the Canadian border put those plans on hold.

Now I find myself travelling several times a year between Kennebec County Maine, where my youngest son resides, and Virginia Beach where my daughter lives. My Livingston home is the halfway point between the two destinations. My eldest son, his wife, and my youngest grandchild live in Essex County and I see them frequently. I had never planned to stay in Livingston, but now the location is perfect.

As retirement approaches, I have begun to prioritize my extensive “bucket list”. This July I will be in Maine for the Boudreau family lobster fete and family reunion. Penciled in for late August, is a trip to Avignon, France to visit former Livingston friends. Discussions are underway about re-scheduling that trip to Prince Edward Island. I have hopes of visiting England, Scotland, and Brittany within the next few years.

Despite landing in “Holland” when I had planned to travel to “Rome”, I have been blessed. My children have earned three college degrees, three graduate degrees, and three beautiful homes. We’ve enjoyed two weddings (to fabulous spouses), military service, and three grandchildren – ages 8, 7, and 7 months!! And I just became a great-aunt for the 28th time! I ended up exactly where I should be. My family has achieved what I had always hoped they would. I have so many places I wish to see and so many things I wish to do. I now have the luxury of planning my golden years and feel lucky to call Livingston my home.