Happy Birthday, Katie!

Katie may be half my age but I still look up to her. She doesn't intentionally draw attention to herself but one always knows when she's in the room because she has presence and is, honestly, a little bit mysterious. And wonderfully bright, honorable, admirable, sensible, beautiful, funny and loyal. I remember the day she was born, two days after Dad was elected to the Senate, at the beginning of the Reagan era. Jimmy started bragging about her right away but every word was true so we let him get away with it. She had a stuffed globe and there wasn't a country that she couldn't identify. Little two-year old Katie solemnly pointing them out without missing a beat. Impressive, but I could picture the poor child being drilled morning, noon and night so she could entertain Jimmy's friends and relations. Of course, I ran right out and got a stuffed globe for David when he was two. I taught him where some countries were and how to say "(I) don't like Russia" when he pointed to it (Reagan era, remember?) but he had some trouble committing the names of presidents, prime ministers and kings to memory like his cousin, Katie. One of my all-time favorite stories is about Katie and the "K" from the Ocean View sign. Get Jimmy to tell you the story. It's a classic. And, I love that she married Kyle, her high school sweetheart. Yes, she's always been amazing and we love her so.