The House that Built Katie

I have a friend named Katie. I met her in college, she was in my major at BYU and we were in Young Ambassadors together my senior year. And she is very special.

She's one of those people--you might be lucky enough to know the kind--who positively embody everything good and sweet and kind that there is in the world. I mean, I try to be good, but Katie doesn't try, she just is. She is beautiful and talented, intelligent, and a super hard worker, but the most striking thing about her is her purity. The best way I could describe her to you without meeting her is to say that she's Melanie from "Gone with the Wind." She's just one of those people who seems like she might be a better fit in heaven with angels, than on earth with us humans.

She's been living in Oregon the last three and a half years, so when she emailed me to let me know she was visiting her mom about 30 minutes away, I jumped at the chance to see her. We set a date for October 26, and as I pulled up on her street, this is what I saw.

Darling home . . .

after darling home . . .

All perfectly festive for the Halloween season . . .

And then I pulled up to Katie's house . . .

This is the house of Katie's childhood.

A pink, gingerbread, fairy tale, doll house.

Of course.

This explains a lot.

And just like Katie, I utterly and completely fell in love with it.

Her mailbox.

Her front porch.

Her living room.

And this . . .

. . . this is Katie.

Do you see what I mean? That angelic, effortless expression of goodness and love? And that's not even her baby she's holding.

We spent the afternoon together, talking, eating lunch (a homemade chicken salad, lemonade, and witch-hat Halloween cookies--in keeping with the "picturesque"-ness of the day.) She has three children and arranged for her mother to tend to them upstairs so she could be free to chat, which we did--for four hours. The time just flew. I had the absolute loveliest time with her, and I've thought of her every single day in the two and a half weeks since our visit.

(with her oldest daughter, Elizabeth)

It was so, so good to see her. I left there with the same sort of feeling you get after your mom reads you a story and tucks you into bed, or when you curl up on your coziest chair with a blanket and sip hot chocolate by a crackling fireplace. And then it just kept going! I drove downtown and passed the city library where there was a beautiful, enormous fountain and lots of children out playing in it. The stores were charming. The street names were charming. This darling town and the people in it were like something from the end of "It's a Wonderful Life."

I went home and told Jacob all about my day and about my friend Katie, and how special she was to me then, and still is to me now; how she, by just being who she is, inspires me to be a better person. And he said something that both shocked and astounded me. He said, "I think you may be a 'Katie' to some of the people in your life." To which I replied, "everybody should have a 'Katie.'"

(with her baby boy, Seth)

So Katie, I thought that I'd let you know that you're my 'Katie.' You are one of those people I feel like I knew before I met, and have always wanted to emulate. You bring up everyone around you and that giant, open heart of yours has made a permanent, indellible impression in mine. I feel honored and lucky to know you, and I thank you for being EXACTLY who you are. I love you!