Cathy

The day after Thanksgiving, Archie and I went over to Joann & Steve's house to see Cathy and her husband, Chuck. Cathy and I have been friends since high school and she has lived in Colorado for 20+ years. Cathy and I were inseparable from the time we met in high school until I moved away in 1976 to live with Archie in North Carolina. Cathy is the funniest person I have ever met!!! We used to laugh so hard we would pee our pants!!! Cathy is the first person I ever went camping with. Neither one of us had ever camped before and the first time we camped we went to Estes Park, Colorado. It was the most amazing, fabulous trip!!! We had a little orange pup tent, our cooler filled with Coors beer, and we were set!!! We met so many wonderful people and had so much fun. We still tell the stories of our camping trips. Estes Park was the first of many of our camping trips. After awhile, Cathy and I never even bothered to put up the tent. We just laid our sleeping bags out and slept under the stars.

Cathy and I always talked about our hopes and our dreams and what we wanted out of life. Cathy said the very first time she saw the Rocky Mountains, "I'm going to live out here." And she did. She has lived in Colorado longer than she lived in Fort Wayne. She loves it out there.

She is heading for a new adventure possibly...her husband, Chuck, has been offered a job in Seattle. He has to decide if he is going to take the job in 2 days!!! So Cathy may be moving to Seattle!!!!

Cathy sent me a card years and years ago that I have never thrown away. It has been one my mantras and I have cross-stitched this beautiful poem that was on the card for my Mom. I would like to share it with you now. It sums up my life and all that I feel....

If I could hold a flower

And watch its petals fade

If I could touch the well worn earth on which my children played

If I could hold one moment of the times you've made me smile

Then I can take the bad times

For you've made them all worthwhile