It was nearly 14 years ago when we moved to San Antonio for the first time and met Kathy. She was in the choir with us at church and she quickly took to loving our family. She babysat the "original three" and was in a bible study I did with a few ladies at my home.
This week as I packed up photo albums I took a little time to look through them and there was Aunt Kathy at each of the kids birthday's during those first two years we lived here so long ago. When we returned to SA town ten years ago Kathy was there to faithfully come alongside us to help in any way she could. I remember the day we closed on this house and came to do the walk through. The owners had not cleared out anything. The lady who lived here died and her children didn't want to be bothered with cleaning the house. Kathy called while we were still taking in the magnitude of the condition of the house and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?" A few hours later she met me at the house and we began cleaning. It took hours and hours and many black garbage bags to clear out the trash in the house and in the garage. Kathy scoured the tubs and toilets and washed down all the base boards. She and I yelled back and forth to one another about the ridiculous items we were coming across as we opened cabinets. She was a God-send that night.
Kathy has become part of our family. She is Aunt Kathy to each of the kids. She began watching Libby on wednesday nights within a month of when she was born. She rocked her and fed her. She showered her with cute clothes and then when Elly came two years later she did it all again.
Kathy has the keys to our house, and knows where everything is. She knows the kids and she knows Mark and I. She knows what foods we like, what wine we drink and what our favorite beer is.
Thursday afternoon my phone beeped telling me I had a text. "I've taken tomorrow off, what time do you want me to come help?"
Kathy came Friday morning and worked alongside me all day. We packed, and sorted, and took stuff to the Goodwill. She made lunch for the girls, folded laundry, put movies on for the girls and when I was too tired to do anymore she put together another box and said, "what are we putting in this one?"
Saturday morning she came back again, and brought fresh bagels and cream cheese. We tackled the garage together. She listened to Mark and I spar as the tensions grew over what to keep and what to pitch. She sweated with us and by the end of the day the bulk of the garage was packed.
Kathy knows all about our dirt, our mess, our shameful parts.
She's seen it all.
Tonight she came and took the girls to dinner so Mark and I could go out. As she left she had tears in her eyes, evidence the ache we are all feeling as the time is nearly here when we will all say good-bye to this house the season we have lived here will close. As she walked down the path towards her car my mind began playing the slide show of moments we share with Aunt Kathy. She was here when this house was a mess and we'd just bought it. She helped us move in, and she's here with us packing it up. That is what family does.
Kathy has been one of God's sweetest gifts to us. And tonight I am so very grateful.
What a blessing Kathy has been to your family. She is a beautiful Aunt and a beautiful friend. She is a beautiful woman.
Posted by: Letty | August 08, 2010 at 05:17 PM