Happy Birthday, Cousin Kathy!

Here is my card to Kathy Samuels Schuler, my cousin on my mother's side. To introduce Kathy, let me tell you a bit about the family:

Kathy's mother was one of my favorite Aunts, Aunt Helen, who lived in Oklahoma City, OK. Aunt Helen was the wife of a Christian minister, Uncle Joe. She would sew the most unusual things (like the State of Oklahoma which made an apron) and mail them to my sister, Paula, and I for Christmas when we were kids, she had a love of life and people that was remarkable, loved and was interested in everything, gave excellent advice, laughed at the drop of a hat, and she was always supportive of and fascinated by my cat photography. Aunt Helen would come to the cat shows in Oklahoma City with Kathy, and in May of 2000, she brought Aunt Georgia, the oldest of my mother's sisters, who passed on a few years after.

Aunt Helen died last June after battling colon cancer and the attendant chemotherapy. She was a love. So now I have Uncle Joe and Kathy & Dustin as my relatives who live in Oklahoma City.

Kathy and I have developed a great relationship. She is like a sister to me. And today marks a milestone birthday for her (I'm going to be decorous here and not mention the number, but suffice it to say, she is younger than I am but not young enough to be MY daughter!). So I thought that I could honor her, her mother, and the marking of a good number of years on terra firma by this post. Kathy has a big heart, loves animals, is sharp as a whip and has a sly sense of humor. She is a treasure. Happy Birthday, my Sweet!