Name: Karen Harte
Age: 43 only for few more weeks
Hometown: West Islip
Current Town: West Islip
Family: Husband-Marty 4 Children- Cameron(13),Ryan(12), Megan(11),Madison (10) & Maisy (2 year old Chocolate Lab)
After I said yes to our amazing leader Lou to do this I thought what am I doing I hate writing, am typically an introvert and my time is certainly limited with 4 kids and a hyper dog but since its summer so I’m not working here it goes…
I grew up in a pretty “typical” family. My father owned various businesses from trucking companies to oil delivery to being a commercial builder. His work ethic astounds me he is almost 70 and will still do manual labor rather than as he puts “wait for a no-show worker or have it done wrong”.My mother would work at whichever business he had at the time doing billing which allowed us the luxury of her always being home when we got home from school. I have 1 sister who is 5 years older than me we have always been and always will be close although she lives in Texas now. We moved a lot when I was little (always within same town) People always said wow you must have hated that but I actually enjoyed having a different room to decorate. In all the areas we lived there were so many kids to play with. Summer night we were out well past dark playing ghost in the graveyard or hide and seek. Summer days were typically spent at camp because my mother believed strongly in being involved in structured social interactions. We would also spend weekends on our boat mainly at Atlantique or Watch Hill. For a week or so we would venture to Greenport, Montauk, Sag Harbor, Block Island and Shelter Island. Those days and nights spent on the boat are my fondest childhood memories playing on the beach all day with children we would meet or of families we traveled with. Feels like such a difference in today’s world with my own kids such less a feeling of innocence and being able to stay out and explore the world without the worry parents have today.
I was never interested in organized sports and despised running (lol) my least favorite part of gym class other than square dancing was running the mile. My teen years were spent taking the bus to Robert Moses and “hanging out” around Babylon at night. Made it through my teen years with only minimal scratches and attempted to go away to college. I was apparently not ready to be responsible so I had to come home after 1 semester where I gained no credits and was made to go to Suffolk for a year where my step-father (my parents got divorced when I was 16) could watch over me. I did well transferred to Hofstra then went to Queens College for my Master’s Degree in School Psychology. I was lucky enough to get a job straight after at Eastern Suffolk BOCES where I have now been working for 17 years. I love what I do even though my “I’m going to fix every child” attitude changed after my 1st year
🙂Counseling high school age is my favorite part of it because once in awhile you know you made a difference in a child’s life even if as simple as being the one who listened to them for 30 minutes. And I can’t complain about working 6 our days 5 days a week for 182 days a year.
I was first married in 2002 and had 2 children subsequently. Unfortunately, the marriage did not work out but I wouldn’t change a thing being that Cameron and Madison came from that. During my divorce I began running a little as a stress reliever. I met my current husband, Marty in 2011. It was a whirlwind romance we both knew what we wanted so we got married, bought a house and joined our families (unfortunately for us Hurricane Sandy hit a few weeks after we moved into our home so our blended family started off as a whirlwind too)
I began getting more serious about running in 2014 running a 5k here and there and now several years later as Marty can attest to I am at a race at least once a week most weeks. I have broadened my horizons to 10K’s and my 1st 10 miler this year. I also try to get to the hills as much as time allows. Joining Selden hills has led me to meet so many awesome people. The feeling of being at a race amongst fellow warriors who never let you feel alone is incredible. So thank you to Lou and all my fellow warriors who have been so welcoming!