In High school I had this friend unlike any other friend. Her name was Katie. She was loud, and goofy and could make anyone smile just by being near. She was a Cheerleader, so of course she was full of energy. But, she was also so full of life. It seemed like nothing ever bothered her. For her, life was always great. She would make up silly words and phrases, just because. She was a friend to EVERYONE, and I do mean everyone. She was just this big ball of happiness and sunshine.
I have so many memories of time spent with her. Like the time when we were at her house making posters for homecoming and one of her kittens ran away. She lived in the country like me, so that cat could have run off to anywhere. She was not going to give up though. We looked for that thing for hours. We got chased by the neighbors dog and walked miles calling for that silly cat. We never did find him.
We took tumbling classes together for cheer leading and we usually drove to class together. Being older, I was the one with the car and She was the only one on the squad who liked the same music as me. It just made sense for us to ride together. We would drive the couple of miles to the gym together singing every song that came on the radio at the top of our lungs. We teased each other when we got the words wrong. One song in particular will always stick with me. There is a line in one Nickelback song that says "Living with me must have damn near killed you." She liked to sing it " Little woman must have damn near killed you" I would laugh so hard every time she sang it that way. I still smile and laugh every time I hear that part of the song come on.
In 2004, almost two years after I graduated, I was living in a town, away from were we grew up. I hadn't spoken to Katie in a while and honestly hadn't thought much about her. But, then I got a call that changed everything. Katie had died. The night of March 7, 2004, Katie had gone for a ride on the back of a friends motorcycle. I'm not sure on exact details. All I know for certain is that there was a crash and Katie died. This silly, sunny person was gone.
She was taken way too young; Just 18. She had her whole life ahead of her.She was supposed to graduate in less than 3 months. She was going to go to college. She loved fashion designing and had been drawing clothes for what seemed like ever. Her older sister had been one of my Cheer coaches and I dearly loved them both. Katie, since she was younger was my cheer sister. She was the little sister I looked out for and taught all I knew about cheerleading. She was a wonderful friend.
I'm sure If she was still alive she would be in New York or LA designing clothes and becoming famous. I'd like to think we would have kept in touch through Facebook, as I do with her sister, but probably not. We would have drifted away and lived the lives we were meant to live. But, Katie's life was cut short. Her spirit touched so many people in the short 18 years she was alive. Today marks 10 years since she left us. I like to think she is looking down and smiling at all of us, proud of what our lives have become. I like to imagine she is goofing off and making funny jokes still. Being the clown she always was.
Today when I went to the cemetery to bring her flowers, as I do every year. I was standing in front of her headstone, looking at her picture, seeing her bright smile and long brown hair. I felt warm and looked up to see the sun shining through the trees. Spears of sunshine poked through the trees like fingers. Fingers reaching out to touch a loved one. It was like she was right there with me. showing me just how much she is still present. For me, and I know many others, she will never be gone.
If you knew Katie and have a memory of her, or something you would like to share about her please feel free to leave comments below. Lets keep her memory alive for all to enjoy.
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