When we start our journey of adopting our new family we were asked to write a little story about our lives.  We have included them below so that you may get to know us better.

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“My Life”

Michele Fleszar Glancy

 I grew up in a family and community full of love and respect. We lived in the same neighborhood all my school age years.  My mom and dad are the greatest people you will ever met. My dad was a college professor and my mom stayed at home with us. My dad was a very intelligent, loving, caring and funny person. He cherished the ground that my mom walked on. He loved her so completely. My mom is a nurturing, loving, and thoughtful person. They were happily married for 39 years before my dad passed away. They were a real team. My mom and dad always held hands and never left the house without kissing each other good bye.  Growing up with three brothers and not having a sister was a challenge for me.  Gary was the oldest, Joe was the middle, and David was the youngest of the boys. All my brothers liked to play sports, so I was introduced to the sports world at a young age. I liked playing sports, especially soccer, and baseball with all the neighborhood kids. We had a wonderful neighborhood filled with many kids of all ages. All the mothers would have coffee on the porch together while we played. My dad was hardworking but always had time for us. Every night we would have dinner together and talk about what happened in our day, education and school were a very important topic of discussion.

My parents were so in love. We spend most of our time together as a family. My parents had a strong marriage based on love, honesty and trust. They believed in each other, they set goals and achieved them together as a team. My parents always hugged and kissed us, not only when we were young but our whole lives.  My parents spent many long hours at the kitchen table discussing finances and us, children. They had open communication with each other and with us. Growing up with parents that loved and respected each other completely.  I wanted a marriage based on the same qualities as my parents, love, respect, strong morals and values because they are the most important attributes to form a strong and healthy marriage. My parents were happily married for 39 years. Through the years, I learned from their marriage that you have to give and take depending on the circumstances, but always let the other person be their own individual. As a family, we experienced many good times together, always spending time with my grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends. Every Sunday, we would visit both sets of grandparents.

My dad’s family was smaller than my mom’s family. My dad grew up with one older brother, older sister, and his parents. He was the baby of the family, just like me.  My dad's family was Polish descent and he was the first generation to be born in the United States. His family spoke Polish, however, his brother, sister, and himself learn to speak English in school. My grandparents always had a garden and cherry trees. I loved eating cherries and fresh vegetables from the garden. I would climb the cherry tree with my brothers and cousins to pick cherries. My grandmother died before I was born, so I never had the pleasure to know her, but my grandfather was a huge part of my life. He would sit and talk to me about the future, what I wanted to be when I grew up, and just about life itself. His eyes would light up every time I walked into the room and he always had a warm smile. He had a difficult time speaking English but we had a strong sense of communication. Later in life, I realized because of knowing him and his bravery to bring his wife to the United States, I wanted to travel and see other cultures.

My mom’s family consisted of five sisters, two brothers, and her parents. Therefore, I had forty cousins. We would go to my grandparent’s house after church every Sunday. My grandparents did not have a large house but we all managed to enjoy the extended family. I can honestly say I really knew all my cousins from spending Sunday pasta dinners together, as you probably can guess my mom’s family is Italian descent. My grandmother was born in the United States, first generation, and my grandfather was born in Italy. All the grown ups would sit around the kitchen table and drink coffee, while the kids played games outside. We would bug our parents to let us go to the store to buy candy… usually as a special treat they would give in to us and we would run all the way to the store. My grandfather made the best meatballs, and now that he has passed away, my brother David makes the best. We enjoyed many pasta dinners with communication between all the families. I can remember the discussions that they would have at the table, everything from education, religion, and family. At my grandparent’s house there was always someone there and it made life exciting as a grandchild. 

Growing up my parents allowed me to broaden my horizons. My father did research every summer for the Science Foundation and we would travel with him. We were very fortune to be able to discover the United States. We would visit places that I would read about in school. One summer we spent the time in California with my aunt, uncle, and two cousins. We also, have extended family in California and do not get to see them that often. When my dad came home and said, “Pack up the Buick and camper, we are going to California, everyone was so excited. We traveled across country and stopped at many sights. The Grand Canyon is one of my favorite memories. We rode donkeys down in the canyon, what an adventure. We camped out, close to the Grand Canyon. I will always remember the nights we sat around the bomb fire roasting marshmallows together.

During my school years, I was involved in many activities in and out of school. In school, I was involved in sports. I liked all sports especially, baseball, soccer, swimming and field hockey. In elementary school, I was a crossing guard at school.  I liked helping other kids. One of my best memories was the Fashion show at school. I have always been interested in fashion. I chose my mom to be in the fashion show with me. She sewed two beautiful pink dresses that matched.  My mom always had a flare for fashion. She made all my clothes until sixth grade. The big night of the event finally came and everyone from school and the neighborhood would be there. Every time there was a school function, the community was very involved. My mother and I looked stunning in our dresses at the fashion show. This was one of the proudest moments of my life. That’s when I realized how much respect I had for my parents and family. I knew we were committed as a family and I loved them more than words could say because of their continuous support and guidance. 

My parents felt that each one of us should have the opportunity to express themselves. I loved to dance since I was a young girl. I would dance with all my extended family at my grandparent’s house on Sundays. When I was five my mom enrolled me in dancing lessons. I loved to dance with the other kids. The night of the recital, I was scared to death to perform on stage. I made it through my fear with the coaching of my family. I took a couple years off after that incident. When I was in third grade I decided to go back to dancing. Even today, I am still dancing with my husband, we both have a passion for dancing. I was involved in my different activities. One of my favorite activities was playing the piano with my brother Joe.  We were very close growing up and shared our taste for music. I was also involved in Brownies then Girl Scouts. I loved when we would visit people in the hospital or sing for elderly people in the nursing home. The smile on everyone’s face made me feel good about myself.  We would go on camping trips with the Girl Scouts.  I really enjoyed that time with all my friends. Camping was fun and I spent many summers camping with my family.

My parents were very involved in the community. We belonged to St. Hyacinth’s church and the Polish Falcon Club. Through these two memberships we were involved in many activities from helping ourselves become a better person and volunteer work. My parents wanted us to have a sense of togetherness and to realize how fortune we were to have love, family, and friends. When we raise our child/children, I will remember the values that were instilled in me through my parents and the community.

Growing up in Auburn, New York has been a great journey for me. I always liked school, my favorite subjects were math and reading. I loved to read about different people, places and cultures. I liked the social aspect of school, in other words I love people. I had many friends growing up and my three closet friends have been my best friends since my journey began in elementary school. We have matured together through good times and bad times but we have always communicated our feelings, hopes, and dreams. As far as dating in high school, I only had one boyfriend. I dated Rob all through high school, and college. We are still close friends and I have the utmost respect for him. My biggest problem as a teenager, I wanted a sister. I had three older brothers and they were great but I wanted a sister. My parents helped me through this adjustment period by, letting me have friends over, going to friend’s houses and sleepovers. Also, my cousins, played a key role in my life, we did many different activities together.

Let me begin with telling you that my husband is the love of my life. He has many of the same great qualities that my dad had. He is very supportive in my decisions and lets me be an individual.  We grew up in the same hometown. Michael was two years ahead of me in High School and I did not know him. I met Michael when I was twenty -nine years old. We were both visiting in Auburn and met through mutual friends. The first time I saw him, his smile just blew me away. I talked with him for several hours and we clicked right away. We both have traveled Europe and shared our adventures. I knew that night, he was going to be my husband.  I had never felt like this before… ever!  He called me and we talked for hours on the phone. By our third date he took me to Vermont to meet his parents.   Our Families have so much in common, they love to sit around the kitchen table, drink coffee and talk.  I remember the day that Michael’s parents came to my parent’s house to meet them. It was a beautiful sunny spring day. My mom had prepared a wonderful meal with the help of my dad, they love to cook together (so does my husband and I). Michael parents are Irish and with my parents being Polish and Italian they hit it off right from the start, and had so much in common, family, friends, and love. That was the only time my dad was able to meet Michael’s parents, he passed away unexpectedly right after that day. My dad had many good discussions with Michael.  They were both graduates of Syracuse University and believe that family was the most important aspect in life. I know in my heart, my dad left me in goods hand with Michael.

One incredible Christmas morning, Michael got down on one knee in front of the Christmas tree and said,  “Will you marry me?” I was so excited, I could hardy believe it, we had been dating for four years. Our families were static. Since then, my life has been an incredible journey. Our families like sharing time together, we are very fortunate. Michael’s parents invite my mom over for dinner when we are at their house and my mom does the same. Both mothers have season passes with us for Merry Go Round Theatre in the summer. We are very involved with our families. We celebrate many occasions at our house and everyone comes. Michael and I also love having everyone over on Sundays for dinner, keeping the traditions. 

Michael and I share every aspect of our life together, we spent most our time together. We truly enjoy being with each other.  We have many of the same interest, skiing, boating, traveling, entertaining, and spending time with family and friends. Michael is a loving and caring husband. He is also my best friend. I trust and respect him completely, which is very important in our marriage. We always have open communication, that is one of the reasons we have a wonderful marriage. I was thirty-four years old when we were married, and I waited my whole life for the right person. God answered my prayers, because Michael is everything I dreamed of when I was a young girl, and he is so much more. As we journey through life together our love becomes stronger and we grow together as a couple. 

We do not have any children yet due to our infertility. We would love to have a child. He/she would be the center of our world. We would instill love, respect, and morals and values into their life.  As a couple, we feel the qualities that we would offer a child would be support, love, guidance, and a caring family environment. We spend many hours with all our nieces, nephews, cousins, and friend’s children. In the summertime, we have cousins that live close to our house, they spend many hours in our pool. They love Michael, he  likes to plays games and swim with them. He is a very loving person and children are attracted to him.

My family has been the greatest influence in my life.  When I was nineteen years old, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin Disease.  It was a very scary time in my life because I did not know anything about cancer.  My family was very supportive of me. They stood by my side through the whole experience.  I experienced chemotherapy for two years, and then one February day, the sun was shining and I went into remission. I have been cancer free for eighteen years. This was definitely the biggest bump in the road through my journey, with love, prayers, support from family and friends, I made it through the most difficult time in my life. Throughout these hardships, my family became closer and stronger than ever. I never saw my dad cry, I am sure he did with my mom. The day he found out I had cancer, he said to me with tears in his eyes, “We will beat this disease together and you will be a survivor.”  My father was a very passionate man. When everyone found out about my sickness, friends and family came to our house to support all of us for the journey we were about to embark upon us. I owe my family, friends, and doctors, my life for the continuous support and guidance. It was eighteen years ago but it has effected me throughout my life. It has made me a stronger person that is not afraid of a challenge, a fighter that will keep fighting even against all odds, and a person that realizes that every day is precious and worth living to the fullest.