Katie’s Korner

”When the final line is over
And it’s certain that the curtain’s gonna fall
I can hide inside your sweet, sweet love
Forevermore”
The Story in Your Eyes – Moody Blues

This is my youngest daughter’s corner of this website. Katie’s a medical master’s degree health professional that enjoys writing like her ole dad!

Congratulations to the happy couple married October 25, 2024! ❤️

Contents:

Ripple Effects – is about the “effect” effect
Time is a Thief – is about the speed of life

Ripple Effects

by Katie Caldwell

I have always struggled with having just one favorite of anything. Favorite book? Too many to choose only one title as my most favorite.  Favorite movie? Forget it! Even to this day I have favorite colors…not just one. Food? It’s the same. Well, except for maybe donuts – the homemade small shop kind like you can find on St. George Island, FL…but let’s just call those one of my favorite treats!

Sometimes, when I really think about a book or movie that’s had an impact on me, I always return to It’s a Wonderful Life.  It’s profound to think about how our actions can have ripple effects into our world and the people in it.

I’ve told my dad how I’m glad he fought the battles he has and kept pushing through. I wouldn’t be here if his life had taken a different direction. And I’m so proud of how he broke the cycle of addiction and trauma from his childhood to create his own life…his own journey… his own story.

As a child, I don’t recall wanting for anything of significance. I’m sure my parents have stories of me throwing a tantrum or fit for some toy or meaningless material something at some point- but when I think back on my childhood- I only have fond memories of playing in the creek with my sister, us building forts in the backyard, and having plenty of toys, board games, Nintendo games, and books…Not to mention the multiple sports we both played!  I can hear Mom yelling down to us at the creek “Dinner is ready!” I can see Dad arriving home from working and me running to him and then he would scoop me up in his arms and give me a big hug. I can see my sister and I walking across the street to my aunt’s house for lunch or dinner or movies and running around her back yard…so many wonderful childhood memories.

I wish I could take away the pain and hardships he has suffered from… as we all wish we could when we have family or friends who have been hurt or are still hurting.  But I’m so proud, as an adult now looking back at my life, that he has been able to persevere through so many obstacles and make a life that has had a ripple effect on me and my family. 

I think, perhaps, part of my “keep going when the going gets tough” mindset, I owe to him.

Thank you, Dad, for allowing me to share in this sacred space that I know you hold dear in your heart. Your ripples are still ever-reaching.

XO,

-Kate (Your favorite youngest daughter)

Ripples

Starting near but reaching far,
Sometimes the end unknown…
Yet the ripples travel on,
Reaching worlds unshown…
Their travel can be far and wide,
Touching depths along…
That merely started as a drop,
From the shore alone.

Time is a Thief

by Katie Caldwell

January 3, 2024

I recently celebrated my pup’s ninth birthday– Gracie Mae. I felt sentimental-as many do when birthdays, anniversaries, milestones come and go. The old adage that time is a thief popped into my mind. After all she was an 8-week-old Valentine’s Day gift to myself just the other day. 😉

I decided though, that this was unfair to the time lived between that word—”thief.” It’s simple but wonderful and full of life—countless walks, runs, joyful last days with her first best friend who taught her how to be feisty but sweet and love everyone she meets. The exploded toys and ones tethered into a single strand cloth because when she plays she plays hard and always has. Her cuddles have increased as she’s slowed down just a tad—which is sometimes hard to notice with all the year’s we’ve had and the way she still can play as if she were a puppy coming home for the first time. I know her favorite places are the same as mine—a sunrise on the beach where time stands still in snapshots in my mind…

At this very moment, Goose (one of her many, many nicknames) is sitting on my lap while I type these words. I think she learned this from her older kitty sister, Lexi. I see more these days the white halo forming around her face as she grows older. And I don’t know how much longer I have with her on this earth, but I’ll continue to enjoy each walk and destroyed toy and watching her play and run while I’m lucky enough to have her still on this side of heaven.

Time is a Thief is dedicated to Emma, her pup cousin and first and best friend who crossed the rainbow bridge in 2023.