An abundance of Katherine’s gifts

My daughter Katherine scooched herself into this old world less than an hour after I arrived at the hospital to give birth to her.

She has always striven to make her schedule efficient and her mother’s life easier.

I am grateful to say she succeeds on both counts every day.

Both an empathetic middle child and a bossy oldest sister, Katherine has always been the Mother Goose to our family squawkers. She tells the best stories in the most interesting voices.

Katherine centers our family from her home on the West Coast and checks in on everyone.

She and her fiancé Ed have built a creative, generous life together. They host and visit with happy regularity.

They’re getting married in June and, in honor of that occasion, a few of her aunts have offered Katherine their beautiful wedding gowns.

Katherine treasures those silky swatches of family history so fiercely that, in January, when the LA fires crept close, she evacuated with Ed, their rescue dog Benny, their houseguest Katie and three fluffy wedding dresses.

They had to take two cars to squeeze everything and everyone in!

Squeezing in is one of Katherine’s specialties.

This past year she has finished a screenplay that earned her an invitation to the Austin Film Festival, co-written a children’s book, co-written a film short, and performed more than a hundred standup sets.

She and I are wrapping up a project together that has been a joy to develop.

She also still volunteers at the Homelight Family Living Program, and she developed a therapeutic comedy workshop for children and she conducted it for young victims of the LA fires.

I got to hang out with her last weekend and I thought, for the millionth time, about how lucky I am to be her mom.

Happy birthday Katherine! May this year be as good to you as you are to everyone else in your orbit.