Keelan+M.

March 14, 1990 was the happiest day of Tim and Maureen McKendry’s life. At the age of 40 Maureen had given birth to their 6th daughter, Keelan. Keelan was born in Jeans Hospital in Philadelphia (RUN-ON SENTENCE) weighing in at 7lbs 3oz Keelan was “a bundle of joy” as her mother said. Since she had so many siblings and the hospital only allowed a certain amount of visitors at a time, her Father thought of another way to see their new baby sister. At the time Keelan’s father Tim owned a screen printing business, so what better way to welcome a new baby girl into the world than making t-shirts for your whole family? The shirts were white with green Gaelic font that said ‘Happy St. Patrick’s Day Keelan!’ All six of Keelan’s siblings wore them to the hospital and stood outside their mother’s hospital room waving at their newborn sister sleeping in her mother’s arms.

Keelan arrived back to her house on March 17th in the early afternoon. The day Keelan got home her father said she was so quiet it worried him and his wife. Keelan had only been in this world for two moths when her Father’s job forced them to move to Omaha, Nebraska. No one in the family was excited about the move. Moving from the city of Philadelphia to the middle-of-nowhere Omaha would be a huge change for the family.

Molly, the oldest of the McKendry children was 18 years old and a senior in high school. When Molly went to school the next day during the morning announcements it was announced that Keelan was born and a congratulations was in order. Seana the second oldest of the McKendry family was 16 years old and a junior in high school. Keelan and Seana look so much alike people would mistake Seana for Keelan’s mother. Kate, the 14 year old freshmen, couldn’t get enough of Keelan. She constantly held her and rocked her to sleep. Meghan was 11 years old and thrilled to have another little sister. Maura was 5 years old and always used Keelan as her baby when she played house. Padraic was 3 years old and a first time big brother.

(A TRANSITION IS NEEDED HERE.) In the year of 1990 there were many World and U.S. events. South Africa finally frees Nelson Mandela after twenty seven and a half years of imprisonment, the Western Alliance ends the cold war, and the United States banning flag burning are some of the historical events that happened in 1990.

Movies and television was (WERE) also very popular in the McKendry household in the year 1990. Movies such as Home Alone, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kindergarten Cop, and Pretty Woman were watched over and over by all the children. Popular television shows in 1990 included The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Americas Funniest Home Videos, Law and Order, and All My Children. Music was also very important to the McKendry’s. Keelan who was just shy of a year old was often caught bobbing up and down to the beat of [|You Can’t Touch This] by MC Hammer. Other popular songs in 1990 were Pump Up The Jam by Technotronic, Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice, and Vogue by Madonna. Keelan’s mother Maureen remembers capturing Keelan’s dancing on home video and mailing it to her mother who lived in Philadelphia.

Keelan’s father Tim remembers introducing sports to Keelan in her first year of life. He would place her in the backyard with Keelan’s older brother Padraic with a soccer ball. Tim says that he was trying to “get Keelan used to seeing sports and wanting to be apart (MAKE TWO SEPARATE WORDS - A PART) of a team”. This all seemed a little strange to Keelan’s mother Maureen who couldn’t imagine little one year old Keelan possibly being ready to pick out what sport she wanted to play when she was older when she could barely even say the word ball. Keelan’s father remembers watching the San Francisco 49ers win 55-10 against the Denver Broncos in Super bowl XXIV with Keelan on his lap. In the year 1990 there were many achievements in the sports world. In golf, Nick Faldo was the winner of The Masters. In Tennis, Pete Sampras won the men’s US Open and Gabriela Sabatini won the women’s US Open. The day after Keelan’s day of birth Tom Harmon, a Heisman Trophy winner died.

Since Keelan had 6 sisters she grew up around fashion. In 1990 grunge was very popular. Her sisters wire (WORE) oversized flannels and loose fitting jean(S). Her sister Meghan even ricked (?) a fanny pack instead of a purse. It looked as though her sister has (HAD) just rolled out of bed and put whatever clothes they (SHE)found on the floor. Keelan’s father recalls one of his daughters borrowing a flannel button up of his and wearing it to school. Even though it looked as though it didn’t take long for the girls to get ready, Keelan’s mother remembers her daughters fighting over the bathroom in the morning. Luckily Keelan was only a year old and her mother dressed her. She wore adorable bows in her hair and dresses with countless ruffles.

On March 14, 1991 baby Keelan turned one year old. Her chubby little fingers were tearing apart her piece of cake while her father video taped her siblings singing the birthday song. It had been a year of change for the McKendry family. Along with a seventh child being introduced to the family, the move to Nebraska was a blessing in disguise. The McKendrys grew closer than ever. Although there was an 18 year difference between Keelan and the eldest sister, that didn’t change the relationship between any of the siblings. They all loved each other unconditionally and still do to this day. Now Keelan is almost 18 years old and finishing up her senior year in high school. Soon Maureen and Tim McKendry will be living in a house with no children for the first time since 1971.