2010-05-22 Kathy turns 18

(The Beacon editor chose not to publish this as it doesn't fit new guidelines for Valley Voices columns)

Ten days after her due date Katherine Anne was suddenly in a big hurry to greet the world. It was one of the scariest times of my life when she was born before the doctor arrived, with her cord wrapped around her neck, and she did not breathe or cry right away. The nurses did everything right and soon enough all was well. From birth this child was a shy one and didn’t want to be held by anyone other than her mom, dad, or grandma. She did not want to sleep at all unless we were holding her, and there was no tricking her with moving her to the crib after she fell asleep. Her favorite time to cry was during hours most people like to sleep.

She has grown into a beautiful, talented, and bright young woman who turns eighteen today and graduates from Waubonsie Valley High School tomorrow. Her dad and I are so proud of her.

She grew from the days of Girl Scouts, cheerleading, ballet, gymnastics, and piano to become a violinist, a stellar student, a dedicated worker and a cherished friend. She started out wanting to be a doctor, a best-selling author, a teacher, then a professional violinist and finally deciding to become a math major (like her mom!).

When she was little she was so shy that for years our extended family didn’t even know she could talk. At first, she really didn’t talk because she’d had months of ear infections. After she got ear tubes she began talking in paragraphs and she had plenty to say. She became the card shark of the family at a young age and that competitiveness stuck with her through the years. When first learning to write, she chose to write each letter dozens of times, filling notebook pages with one letter per page to perfect her writing skills. She loved writing stories and when she was in fifth grade her “pencil story” was acted out at Brooks by students from Waubonsie Valley HS.

When it came to money, she was always a saver rather than a spender. When we explained that we could not afford a certain vacation one year, she proclaimed “Well, if you saved your money like I do, we could go to Disney World every year!”

Moving from Cowlishaw where she had been the Queen of the Playground in 2nd grade, to Brooks, where she knew almost no one, was a hard time for her. Yet that first year when she was in third grade she read more books for W.E.B. reading than the next two or three kids combined. Even though she remained quiet in school, she apparently made an impression because when the fifth graders had to vote for one boy and one girl to represent their school at an awards breakfast, they chose Kathy.

Since the age of 1 we have known Kathy as “The World’s Pickiest Eater.” The list of foods she likes usually hovers around 10 different items. She will usually choose to stop eating a particular food once I have a couple months’ worth of it stocked up, and she moves on to something else. School lunches have always been hard for a kid who doesn’t eat fruits, vegetables, or sandwiches. She did fine eating a Kid Pack Yogurt for every school day of elementary school, until the company stopped making it, and more than 7 years later we still haven’t found a substitute. We figure when she leaves for college her eating habits can’t possibly get any worse than they already are.

At her 6th grade spring orchestra concert we found out that there are year-end awards given out to the most outstanding orchestra student in each grade. Kathy then did every orchestra-related activity she could in 7th and 8th grade and managed to earn that most outstanding award both years. She played in both Fiddlers and Select Strings (extra-curricular groups that each met two mornings a week before school) and performed in several solo and ensemble events each year plus IMEA and Full Orchestra. During high school she played in Warrior Strings, the Europe trip orchestra, and the New York trip orchestra, was also a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society for two years, and played in the top level Chamber Strings Orchestra for three years.

She consistently worked hard on academics and took very challenging courses while earning a spot on the high honor roll for every single term of middle school and high school. She has been named an Illinois State Scholar, Indian Prairie Scholar and an AP Scholar with Honor. This despite missing several days of school many years due to illnesses and minor surgeries. She has always been very determined and persistent at working toward her goals. These skills will serve her well as she goes off to Illinois Wesleyan University in just 87 days.

I know she will miss her private music students, the children she watches in the nursery at church, her friends, and her family as she embarks on this exciting new chapter of life. We will certainly miss her. Happy birthday, Kathy, and congratulations on graduation!