Happy Birthday, Kate!
My best friend, Kate, turns 26 today. It is therefore the perfect time to introduce her in my blog.
I have only two friends that really qualify for the tag of "best." Renee will get her own introductory entry in this blog sometime soon. Although no less loved, I have known Kate a bit longer and today's her birthday.
Katie and I met in sixth grade. We were in the same class at Iroquois Point Elementary School in Eva Beach, Hawaii. Our dads we both in the Navy, and our families stationed on the island.
At least as I remember it, we started the journey from classmates to friends at the tryouts for the fifth and sixth grade choir. They were held after school in one of the kindergarten classrooms. In the tiny chairs meant for five year olds, Katie and I were comfortable. We were the same height; tied the shortest in our grade.
We both made the choir. On the walks home from school, common ground was uncovered. Odd, but true, one of the common factors is that our parents are all Trekkies going back to the original Star Trek's days in first run. By 1991, even Next Generation was passe, so it was unusual for kids like us to be interested in the shows and movies.
We both were readers; smart but very silly; we both were short, blond and blue eyed in a place where white kids were the minority.
In my earliest recollections of hanging around with Katie, I was a tad intimidated by her coolness, confidence, and smarts. I know she'll be surprised by that. I admired how she boldly dealt with all the kids at school, and she attended the honors classes held for a select few several times a week.
It couldn't have taken long before we were the two-peas-in-a-pod type of friends that if one of us was absent from school, the other would be asked, "Were is Tina?" or "Were is Katie?" For all of sixth grade and seventh grade at Ilima Intermediate, we practically lived at each other's houses. Weekends and summers we stayed up late watching movies or TV, playing games, or just having very serious conversations.
A few weeks before school started our eight grade year, Katie's dad retired from the Navy. They moved home to a tiny town on rural Missouri. That October, my family was transferred to Silverdale, Washington. Lots of friendships would have faded into a memory from there. Our survived on letters, and monthly phone calls - long distance calls were expensive beck then.
The summer after eight grade, Katie flew out to visit for an entire month. After that, we didn't see each other until she came out for my graduation. They graduate in May in Missouri. We spent a week hanging out in Seattle and having adventures just like old times.
After that, I continued to work at Payless Shoe. She got a job at JC Penney and went to the local community college. I moved to Buffalo, NY to be with Chris the summer of 2001. When we decided shortly after that we didn't want to wait to get married, I called Kate to ask which weekend she could come up to attend. I wanted someone to represent my side of the family at our tiny wedding. She made the 800 mile trip with her boyfriend, Danny, for our November 10, 2001 wedding.
Kate and Danny got married that following summer. They bought a house and had a baby. When Kate found out she was pregnant - a home test at two in the morning - she called her mom, his mom, then called me - an honor for the honorary Auntie. Little Sabrina was born January 19, 2005.
Through circumstances in our own lives, Chris and I moved to Missouri in September 2005. We were torn between moving here or moving "home" to the Seattle area where my family lives. Between the lower cost of living and Sabrina, the scales tipped toward Missouri.
As much as I love being around Kate again, the biggest blessing has been being a part of Sabrina's life. Kate and I would be friends regardless of geography, but if you aren't around a toddler isn't going to know or care about you. Now two and a half, Sabrina knows who her Aunt Tina is, that I am only there to play with her, and that I love her.
She's such an active, creative, smart, funny little girl. She is amazingly beautiful, too, with the prettiest ringlet curls. She's the kind of kid that even when her clothes are mismatched, her nose is running and her face is dirty people still stop to say what a cute little girl she is. When we first got here, I would always explain when I happened to have the stroller that, yes, she is a pretty baby, but I am just the aunt. Now, I have learned to simply smile and say thanks.
As for Kate, I am so proud of her. She and Danny separated, and subsequently divorced, shortly after Sabrina's first birthday. Kate moved back in with her parents, one of the hardest things a grown woman with a child can do. Sabrina is a lucky kid to have Mommy, Maw-maw and Pa-pa at home. Danny has her every other weekend. She is loved and happy. I don't worry about her at all.
Kate, however, has the challenge of juggling motherhood with daughterhood, working part time and going to college full time. She will have her four year degree in less than a year.
After all the years we were apart and living very different lives, it is surprising how much Kate and I still have in common. Our ideas of what makes for a fun time are very compatible. Our since of style is similar - bold and a little tacky. We have basic values in common.
I'm lucky that God gave me a friend who is more than a friend, if not quite a sister.
So, happy birthday, Kate.
Trackbacks
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2/13/2008 4:42 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
My first mistake was reading the third book of a trilogy without reading the other two. My other mistake was assuming that Always Dakota would be a light pleasure ride of a love story. Debbie Macomber writes western historical romance and contemporary romance. Then there are these one's that I can only call woman's fiction. I've enjoyed some of these titles like The Shop on Blossom Street, the story of a knitting shop in downtown Seattle and the women who take knitting classes. Since I knit and the Seattle area is as close as I come to a home ... -
6/6/2009 9:34 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
A Creative Nerd promise: no spoilers, ever. I am thrilled to report, of my personal Trekkie circle, four of five (including myself) have loved the new movie. The fifth is torn, but by no means hated it. Yesterday, I went with my local Trekkie group of Kate and her mom, Liz. It was Liz who remains a bit undecided. My parents, in the Seattle area, went yesterday, too. Mom called first thing this morning to compare notes. Anticipation was killing me leading up to seeing JJ Abrams' vision of the Trek universe. The trailers looked so good. I ... -
5/9/2009 11:51 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
A Creative Nerd promise: no spoilers, ever. I am thrilled to report, of my personal Trekkie circle, four of five (including myself) have loved the new movie. The fifth is torn, but by no means hated it. Yesterday, I went with my local Trekkie group of Kate and her mom, Liz. It was Liz who remains a bit undecided. My parents, in the Seattle area, went yesterday, too. Mom called first thing this morning to compare notes. Anticipation was killing me leading up to seeing JJ Abrams' vision of the Trek universe. The trailers looked so good. I ... -
5/21/2008 11:19 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
Yesterday, I spend the day at Grant's Farm with Kate and her three year old Sabrina. It was my first visit to the historic St. Louis attraction. Only in St. Louis would schools take field trips to a park proudly owned and operated by Anheuser-Busch. Like the St Louis Zoo, admission is free. You just pay parking and a beautiful day is yours to enjoy. One of the must-do activities at Grant's Farm is feeding the baby goats. Kate had told Sabrina that's what we were going to do. Like any kid, she loves cute little animals. When I saw ... -
4/29/2008 9:30 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
Source: Maxim.comIn just over a month on May 22nd, the fourth installment of the classic archaeologist adventures finally arrives in theaters. I can't wait to see it. I don't go to the movies more than a few times a year in my adult life, not like the usually weekly trips to the theater when I was growing up. Some movies are worth the effort in budgeting and planning to see it on the big screen no matter what it takes. Since this cinematic experience would not be complete without Kate to share popcorn and post-film discussion, what it will take ... -
2/4/2008 12:44 AM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
In four short months, I have done something it took most of the reading public a decade to accomplish. That's right. I've finished reading all seven Harry Potter books. I somewhat regret waiting to read them. The excitement of anticipation and the trill of being part of such a massive movement are things I missed out on. I finished reading Sorcerer's Stone right at the time of the Dumbledore-is-Gay controversy. I was less kind to J.K. in that post then I felt a few books into the series. I did not expect her development in writing style and the ... -
11/28/2009 7:12 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
Twice in the last two weeks, Kate and I have gone up to St. Louis to on a quest for Christmas gifts. We live about sixty miles south of the heavily malled metro area. Unlike many of our rural neighbors, Kate has no problem driving to the city on a whim. On each of our trips, we had a mission to accomplish. One item we'd trek around the city from Crestwood to Galleria, or even across the wide Mississippi to St. Clair, Illinois, if we could get what we were after. No problem, no stress. Kate gets a thrill out ... -
9/17/2008 10:56 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I pride myself on being a fun aunt. I am the one who'll get down on the floor to play with toys, happily going along with sometimes nonsensical toddler directed play. I love being able to give the gift of unconditional love and attention to those little ones I've been lucky enough to have call me Aunt Tina. There is nothing so heartwarming than a small child's affection. I have two nephews and two nieces. Chris' sister has a nine year old and one less than a year old, both boys. His baby brother has a little girl. We have ... -
8/3/2008 10:00 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
Sunday tends to be my day to do something with Kate. Today we drove up to St Louis. We have shopping down here is limited to, let me see, Wal-mart, JC Penney, and Wal-mart. We headed to the mall for Torrid for me and B.Moss for Kate. I restocked my supplies at Teavana. I got a hot cup of too-rich-for-my-blood Spice of Life, a white tea blend that sells for $14 for two ounces loose tea. It's good and prized for health benefits. I'm happy with my Masala Chai and the misnamed Mrs. Earl Grey (Lady Grey, Earl is a ... -
8/3/2008 9:52 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
Sunday tends to be my day to do something with Kate. Today we drove up to St Louis. We have shopping down here is limited to, let me see, Wal-mart, JC Penney, and Wal-mart. We headed to the mall for Torrid for me and B.Moss for Kate. I restocked my supplies at Teavana. I got a hot cup of too-rich-for-my-blood Spice of Life, a white tea blend that sells for $14 for two ounces loose tea. It's good and prized for health benefits. I'm happy with my Masala Chai and the misnamed Mrs. Earl Grey (Lady Grey, Earl is a ... -
2/16/2008 11:26 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
... No time to blog. It must be very stressful to have, you know, a life. I just finished working six days in a row with a total of 52 hours. I know I'm a wimp. It's not that bad compared to what many people do week in, week out. I did it to make up some missed days in a buy back program Whatever quality those people have to motivate them, I missed. In other news... Kate and I finally managed to have a day out come together as planed. We've been trying to go to the St. ...
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