Kathy’s Birthday
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I love my sisters, especially Kathy. She’s just a little older than I am, and she will be celebrating a birthday this time next week. It was fun growing up with her; we both loved beach camping and horses and hiking. And together we would often sing this song:
Sisters, sisters; there were never such devoted sisters
Never had to have a chaperone, no sir
I’m here to keep my eye on her;
Caring, sharing, every little thing that we are wearing.
Yep, that was me and my sister—it helps when the two of you are about the same size.
Kathy has grown to be a very handsome woman (I have posted a recent video interview of the two of us on my radio page today, so you can see for yourself.) Anyway, I’m always grateful when Kathy can fly out from Maryland to help take care of me when my husband Ken goes fishing. We get all kinds of house projects done, trying out fun recipes, and shopping for sales, but my favorite part of her visit is when we lay on our beds and reminisce about our childhood. Back then, apart from school, we spent most of our time on the family farm. We did the usual 4-H thing and raised calves and lambs. On the farm, it was all about developing the 4-H’s: head, heart, hands, and health. Apart from 4-H, we even started a club for kids from the neighboring farms; we called it the HD club. That stood for Horse and Dog Club. Our club would put on plays for our parents and relatives. We would hang a long clothes line across the big flatbed farm truck; throw a quilt over it – that was our stage curtain. I remember singing the lead in the play “Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain”, and I didn’t even care that Curly Joe was a guy; I just loved singing “Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day.”
Kathy and I would trek down to fish in the Patapsco River that ran along the border of our farm. We fashioned hooks out of safety pins, and used kitchen string tied to a pole. Mostly, we caught cray fish, but a couple of times we snagged a few small yellow perch. Like, that was so exciting; it was the coolest thing to be a kid and make your own pole, dig up your own worms, and actually catch fish!
I could go on and on, reminiscing, but I have to cut it short. Proverbs 7 verse 4 sums up what I think of Kathy (and my other two sisters, Linda and Jay as well). Proverbs says “Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family.” That is a good verse to remember if you have a sibling who’s well loved by you, because he or she is, indeed, a treasure and as the saying goes: “The time may pass, but sisterhood will last.”
So visit my radio page today to watch a special video of Kathy and me. We’re reflecting on the 50th anniversary of my diving accident. And yes, Kathy was the one who was there to pull me out of the water before I drowned. Anyway, first I’d like you to see her, everyone when they see us say that we look like sisters. I posted a photo also of us today, as well as the video. So get to know my sister, Kathy, and a few more of our childhood memories. It’s there for you at joniradio.org. Oh, and don’t forget to post your favorite sister memory today on our Joni and Friends Facebook page at joniandfriends.org.
Song: Sisters; Written by Irving Berlin (1954); Copyright: Public Domain
© Joni and Friends
