Getting to Know Us
by Barbara E. Solt
This is the third in the series of introducing Augustana's members.
This month we welcome one of the newest baptized member and his family.
Samuel Watt - April 23, 2003
Jesse Watt - March 5, 2001
Helen Payne
Watt - December 28, 1969
Jamie Watt - June 7, 1970
Welcome Samuel, to the Augustana family! We would like to know you
and your family a bit better and appreciate your taking time to talk
with us. (Thought bubble: Would you like to talk to my older brother,
Jesse? He’s been here longer and can talk better than I can.)
OK. Jesse, thanks for being willing to help your baby brother by telling
us a bit about you and your family.
Sure, but remember, I haven'
been around all that long either, and may have to ask my mom and dad
to help. I may be only a little kid, but I watch and listen and, at
two, definitely have my own opinions on things, so ask away.
Thanks. What would you like us to know about your family?
We're
a pretty busy bunch. We're all proud of mom's getting two
master's degrees just about the time Sam was born. An MBA, a
Master’s in Public Management, and a new baby all within a month!
That was a hectic time. I had to be VERY good and helpful. It's
great having Dad, who's a very handy guy around the house, to
help, so that together we were able to both welcome Sam and help Mom,
too.
So you are a family of four?
Well, yes, but we also have our grandparents
and uncles and aunts who visit us and we visit them. My dad is the
youngest of five and my mom is the oldest of four, so we’re actually
more than just us four. My parents met at Bowdoin College in Maine.
Mom grew up in New Jersey and New England, and Dad in Amherst, MA.
Although we love it here, I hear them talking about Maine as “home” and
I know they would like to live there again sometime. They were married
on a farm there, which was pretty neat, by my mother’s uncle
who is a Lutheran pastor. Actually, there are a number of pastors in
our family, including my grandma, who became the third woman Bishop
in the ELCA when she became Bishop of the New England Synod.
But, to continue, it took my parents awhile to get ready to be married
and welcome Sam and me into their world. Seven years after graduating,
they got married and now they've been married seven years. They
tell me they had a great time traveling, living in Oregon for awhile,
and after they moved here rehabbing a house at 15th and Q Streets.
I told you Dad is a pretty handy guy, and he did much of the work.
They lived there before moving to where we live now. That's how
they found Augustana.
Wow, you do watch and listen a lot. Besides rehabbing houses, what
other kind of work do your parents tell you about?
Well, my dad is
in sales for an educational computer company, which I hope to learn
more about as I get more into the education thing, and my mother has
been a developer and manager of non-profit organizations. Before she
went back to school she worked in economic development for non-profit
organizations. But, what's great is how they share their time
with Sam and me. Sometimes we all go places together and sometimes
each of them spends time with just us – like when Mom goes to
usher or to meetings at Augustana and we guys hang out at home.
It seems like Augustana's an important part of your family's
life.
It sure is. This is the first congregation where we've
all been members. While my Mom has been a Lutheran all her life, my
Dad was baptized when they got married and he says Augustana is the
first congregation he’s really been a member of. He joined when
I was baptized. Mom says she really appreciates her first experience
as not being "the preacher’s kid" and being able
to participate in her own right. Even so, she fell into her mode of
volunteering for lots of stuff, like serving on Council and chairing
the Social Ministry Committee, before she decided to concentrate on
Sam and me for awhile. Even so, we all go to the Moms and Dads group
together. That's the group that's supposed to give
moms and dads a chance to visit and learn from each other and to get
support
in raising us kids far from other family, but I think it's really
where we kids get to play with others. Both my parents talk about how
much they appreciate the diversity of Augustana, and the energy, and,
of course the preaching.
Jesse, you sure have been a big help in telling us about your
family. Is there anything else you’d like us to know?
Hmmmm, I guess
it's that we're not all work and no play. My folks like
to travel – Dad's been to Nepal and Mom to Kenya, and we
all like hiking and kayaking.
I've got to run, please tell your mom and dad I look forward
to seeing you in church, you usually sit on the pulpit side in the
middle of the nave, right?
Yes. Bye. See ya. Say good bye, Sam.
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