Happy birthday to my personal Uber/Travel Agent/Concierge

My sister Kathy spent the week leading up to her 54th birthday helping my mom and I finalize details for a trip Kathy isn’t even taking.

She will be driving us to the airport, though, and picking us up, and hosting us the night before our flight.

She’s basically our personal Uber/Travel Agent/Concierge Service.

I have been having a little fun this week making sure I feature her in each post I write, leading up to this birthday post.

Everyone’s birthday is special, but Kathy’s have been extra-special since her cancer diagnosis 12 years ago. She’s been stage four since her breast cancer crept into her brain back in 2016. Like every challenge in her life, though, Kathy has been rising to this one every day since.

She volunteers as a Make-a-Wish wish granter and loses sleep with every pairing as she works to help ensure each wish gets granted. A retired library media specialist and passionate literacy promoter, she is currently on a mission to read every book ever banned. I’m happy to join her on that crusade.

Every Monday she takes her stepson Traveain to their chair yoga class, out to lunch and for an afternoon pick-me-up at Starbucks. She remembers and acknowledges every family member’s birthday without the benefit of Facebook notifications. She is also all of her nieces and nephews’ most ardent supporter.

Her only enemies in life are raisins, salmon, asparagus and spinach, which she loathes with an almost admirable conviction. She loves her husband, her Packers and a big mug of extra hot tea.

Among my favorite memories of our recent family wedding are the times I shared the dance floor with Kathy, who kicked up her heels despite battling some chemo-related distress. She is our calmest, most dependable family member.

So, on the day before her birthday, as I’m waking up in her guest bedroom and preparing to hop in her car for my ride to the airport, I’d like to wish a very Happy Birthday to my sister Kathy.

Best wishes for another great year!

(P.S. I will be taking next week off from the blog and will report on my adventures when I return. Many, many thanks to my sister in-law Elaine for helping Vince out with the boys while I’m gone.)