Our House e-newsletter November & December 2012 | Page 7

The day before the NBC program aired,
Darlene & her sons moved into their
new private room in the Family House.

camera crews capture that moment at 8 p.m. when the
lights go out in the women and children’s dorm.
At dinner time, Ann visited with our residents. Families
asked her for photos, and she graciously obliged. A
young couple who had just moved in told her their story.
She listened intently.
One month later, a group of us sat around at our board
member Jan Alman’s house watching the story as it
appeared on national TV. Someone said, “Does anyone
have Darlene’s number?” We wanted to call her to
congratulate her.
I pulled my phone out, and on it was a text from
Darlene’s son. It said, “this is Marisee. That was good.
My mom was wonderful.”
As exciting as it was to meet Ann Curry, to be on national
TV, and to get this kind of exposure for Our House, that
text is my highlight. Darlene’s teenage son was proud of
her. So are we.