I found this picture in my older brother’s archives after he passed away in Germany three years ago. Up until then, I only had one picture of myself from my childhood that I have carried with me all of my life. This picture is of my little sister and me, taken probably around 1963, while we were at the Guardian Angel Home Orphanage in Joliet, Illinois. We were raised there from an early age until we went to high school. At the time, it was hard to not be with my family and I remember missing my other siblings and my mother a lot. However, deep down inside, even though we were in the Orphanage, we knew we had it better than what we left behind at home. We finally had clean clothes, three meals a day, sheets on our bed, structure, and safety.  The  home we left behind was a miserable, dysfunctional situation. When I wrote my memoir, “Did I ever thank you, Sister?” (www.saldileo.com ), originally in 1999, I had to take a hard look at what really happened and I finally began to realize how fortunate I was to have all the good people and the good experiences from that time that those old Nuns gave us, unconditionally, that has truly shaped who I am today. Life has turned out good. I am grateful. Gratitude truly is freeing!