mopsy blom

Warrenton Students Receive Assistance from Mopsy Blom

By Pauline Hovey
Special to the HERALD
(From the Issue of 11/30/06)

Mopsy Blom just can’t stay away from children. After sending her ninth child to kindergarten, she toyed with the idea of working half days at St. John’s preschool in Warrenton. But an invitation from the principal to come speak to her turned into a full-time position as a fourth-grade classroom aide. Fifteen years later, Blom remains, now assisting third through eighth grades and supervising the lunchroom for two hours.
“I told the principal my own children were my main concern,” Blom said, as she recalled her hesitancy in taking a full-time job. Principal Elizabeth Roach understood the devoted mother’s priority, and since Blom’s younger children attended St. John’s, it appeared the schedule would work well.
But why, when you’ve finally sent your last child out the door to school, would you take a job surrounded by more children?
“I’ve always enjoyed being around children,” Blom explained. “They’re very entertaining. You never know what to expect.”
Educated in Catholic schools in Huntington, N.Y., where Blom said she had a very positive experience with the Dominican sisters, she knew she wanted the same for her own children. When the Blom family moved to Warrenton in 1989, there was no question the children would attend St. John’s. The structure, expectations and, of course, religion are all important elements Blom sees in a Catholic education.
“There are days when you have to do things and make tough decisions, and I wanted (my children) to have something to base it on. When I look at my children now and see what kind of people they are, I see it’s all there, and they’re using what they’ve learned. When there are crises in their life, they know where to go. You get those basics at Catholic school.”
That’s not to say that children at Catholic schools aren’t unlike children anywhere. “Kids are still kids,” Blom said. St. John’s students continue to attempt to get away with the same things, make similar excuses to those her own children used on her. She makes it clear to the students there’s nothing she hasn’t seen or heard or before. “The running joke is, I have nine of my own, you think this is new to me?”
Assisting that many classrooms can be quite a challenge in itself. Her day might begin with attending a morning meeting or supervising a classroom if a teacher is running late. She moves from classroom to classroom as needed and may get pulled to help with the copy machine if it breaks. “For some reason, they seem to think I know about this,” she joked, adding that she is “somewhat mechanical.”
With Blom’s youngest now in college and the others spread across the country from Seattle to Philadelphia, Blom spends some of her free time traveling, making sure she sees her eight grandchildren whenever she can. Raised in a first-generation Irish family, she also loves to visit Ireland, having traveled there several times. “I find a certain amount of peace there,” she said.
So, what’s her secret for being able to surround herself with children all these years? “If I didn’t have a sense of humor, I’d definitely be out of the building.”

Hovey is a freelance writer.