Happy 36th Birthday Katie

Today is Katie’s 36th birthday. For the past 3 years her birthday benefit has helped us celebrate this time in ways that reflect Katie’s giving and fun-loving life. This year, due to the pandemic, her Birthday Benefit is not to be. We planned that this year’s event would focus on musical theater, a great love of Katie’s. One of the vocal numbers was to feature my great-niece, Julia and her good friend Abby performing a song from “Wicked”, one of Katie’s favorite musicals.

As a totally unexpected surprise, this past week-end I received a text from Julia that read, “Since Katie’s benefit was cancelled this year I decided to make a video of me singing both parts of the song you wanted me to sing for the benefit, “For Good”. Enjoy.

With her permission I am sharing it with all of you. As I listened to her beautiful voice, and with bittersweet tears running down my face, I realized with loving clarity, that because Katie was in our lives, because we knew her, perhaps even a small part of us, has changed … for the better.

Thank you to my remarkable, talented and loving great niece for the perfect gift on Katie’s birthday. So today, especially during this unsettling time, take a moment and pause, perhaps light a candle, do something kind, reach out to those you love … and be grateful for all that you have.

Happy Birthday Katie…