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As a contemplative nun, I rarely leave our property, going out only for business like bank trips and doctor visits. For this reason, I can’t remember when I last got stuck in a traffic jam and sat waiting in place until we could drive on.

It has been nearly a year since my friend Elizabeth died. Elizabeth and I were friends all our lives. You could even say that we were friends before we were born because our mothers were friends before they married our fathers. Elizabeth’s mother was Russian Orthodox, and her father was Episcopalian. This made for an ecumenical richness in the bond that linked our two families.

Next year, our Community of the Carmel of Mary Immaculate and St. Mary Magdalen will celebrate the 75th anniversary of our Foundation. On Oct. 14, 1949, six nuns from the Morristown Carmel moved into a large old house in New Brunswick.

Next month, on Sept. 8, we will celebrate the Golden Jubilee of our Sister Rose Marie of the Sacred Heart. During the public Mass in our chapel, Sister Rose Marie will renew the vows she has so faithfully kept for the past 50 years. Such faithfulness is impossible without a deep love to sustain it. Fifty years encompasses two generations. If Sister Rose Marie had married, she would be a grandmother, and indeed Sister fits easily in the role of grandmother to the younger nuns in our community. (Our oldest Sister is 94 and she has been in our community for nearly 75 years, which qualifies her as our great-grandmother!)

I don’t have a twin sister. At least, as far as I know, I don’t. This means that there is no one who shares my DNA. I am quite unique. Actually, I believe that even identical twins have some slight genetic differences, so even with a twin, I would still be unique.