Ode to Kathleen

My sister-in-law Kathleen (Kate), Richard’s youngest sister, is an amazing woman. She is a beautiful, intelligent and multi-faceted woman with numerous talents, boatloads of patience, and a great sense of humor. I learn a lot from her whenever I get the chance (ALL of his sisters are wonderful, but for today, I speak of Kate…).

While spending Thanksgiving with her and her family in Tennessee last year, I learned a few new things from her. Two of them I will point out today.

Kate and two of her friends, both motivated and strong like she is, established a group called “the Goal Girls”. One day each week, the three meet at one of their respective homes to work together on the goal chosen by that friend. It might be cleaning out closets, finishing painting a wall, or something unrelated to the household. They keep each other focused and working. Sometimes they just provide “group therapy” for one another. A sense of accomplishment is felt among all three because they are able to work together, enjoy one another’s company, discuss the gospel, and learn from each other’s life experiences all while getting something done, even with their little ones running around.

What a GREAT idea!

The second great thing Kate taught me was about her philosophy of “life units”. I don’t know if she came up with this idea on her own, but she is definitely smart enough to have done so. While at first the idea seems amusing, it truly makes complete sense to me. She approaches her life with the attitude that we have all been given X amount of life units. When our life units are all used up, we are probably finished with our mission here on earth. This assists her in prioritizing tasks and stresses and in coping with life’s ups and downs. She doesn’t want to waste her life units on things that don’t really matter, like worrying about things she cannot control, wasting time on tasks that really have no value (good, better, best – like Elder Oaks says). She will say, “Well, I would rather use my life units going on an outing with my kids rather than wasting them on …...” or whatever it may be. I think she has figured out the secret of life.

I am glad you are my sister, Kate! Thank you for teaching me, once again. I love you.