Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Cousin(s) (05/22/08)
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TITLE: Kathy's Kids | Previous Challenge Entry
By Tim Pickl
05/26/08 -
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She pressed the Play button on the remote control in her hand.
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A younger Kathy sat on a 2-seat glider chair next to Annabelle, a toddler in a home-based day care setting.
She was reading to Annabelle from a Dr. Seuss book.
“One fish—“
“One finch—“
“Two fish—“
“Two finch—“
“Red fish—“
“Rad finch—“
“Blue fish—“
“Balloon finch! Yay!”
“Yay!” Kathy and Annabelle laughed together.
+++
Margo paused the DVD. Kathy’s smile and Annabelle’s joyful face lit up the church from three large flat-panel monitors.
“My Cousin was filled with God’s love, and she shared Him everywhere she went. Kathy never got married. She had a couple of chances, but God had other plans for her life. About the last time she considered getting married and have children, her parents needed her to move in to take care of them. She humbly heeded the call.”
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Margo pressed Play. The scene changed to an obviously older home movie. Kathy carried a large birthday cake, complete with burning candles.
“Happy Birthday, Dad! Make a wish and blow out the candles.”
“Oh, Kat, you are silly. I wonder where you got that from.” Kathy’s father quipped, paused, and then blew out all the candles, except one. “That one’s for your mother.” He chuckled, and the camera zoomed out, and captured him hugging his bride of 49 years.
+++
Margo paused the recording, and Kathy’s smiling Dad and Mom beamed into the sanctuary.
“Undaunted, my Cousin Kathy continued to serve others after she retired. Within a year, Kathy’s parents went home to be with the Lord because of a horrible car accident. Her brother—who was driving--was paralyzed. Kathy vowed to take care of him, just like she took care of her parents. Even during that stressful time—because her brother was very needy—Kathy took the time to volunteer at my Day Care twice a week.”
+++
Margo turned again toward one of the monitors, and pressed Play.
Kathy was sitting on the glider chair again, reading from a different Dr. Seuss book this time to Jackie Jo, another young child in Margo’s Day Care.
“The time has come.”
“The time has come!”
“The time is now.”
“The time is now!”
“Just go. Go. GO! I don’t care how.”
“I don’t care now.”
“You can go by foot. You can go by cow. “
“Wait! Use my name this time!”
“Okay… You can go by foot. You can go by cow. Jackie Jo Mooney, will you please go now!”
Kathy and Jackie Jo leaned into each other, giggling.
“I love you, Kathy.”
“Oh honey, I love you, too. Sooooo much.”
+++
Margo paused the scene, and Kathy and Jackie Jo’s faces shined into the tearful eyes of everyone present. Wiping tears, Margo pressed on. “Kathy gave her life for us, her family and friends. She is an awesome example. Jesus said it this way, Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. So, last summer when Kathy turned 80, we had a surprise Birthday Party for her. All the kids she volunteered to help me with in my Day Care are now teenagers, and I made sure they showed up. Kathy had no idea--she thought she was coming over for a birthday party for one of my grandkids.”
+++
Margo pressed Play again.
Everyone focused on Kathy as she slowly walked into Margo’s home, clutching a colorful birthday present. She turned the corner—
“SURPRISE!”
“What? Annabelle—Margo—oh….” Kathy spotted the beautiful “HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHY!” banner taped on the wall. Then, one-by-one, all the kids she helped in the Day Care, now teenagers, hugged her and tearfully told her, “I love you, Kathy.”
Kathy began crying. “I…I need to sit down. Margo, come here.”
+++
Margo paused the video. “It was then Kathy whispered the awful news of her cancer in my ear.”
Margo nodded again and the lights came back up.
Then, spontaneously, the teenagers came forward and surrounded Margo with hugs, love and prayer.
Margo wept.
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LOVED IT!
If this is fiction, you did a great job of making Kathy seem 100% real. I really love this woman!
Just a couple small technical errors:
"I’m gonna to show..."
"...getting married and have children..."
Just a reminder to not rely only on spell check for editing, because it won't catch errors with words spelled correctly. I'm truly not trying to be nit-picky; it's just a shame to have these small error in a piece as well-written as this one.
I felt like you captured Kathy's life perfectly. It felt like I was sitting in the memorial service. Good job. Blessings, Cheri