At an age where I am slowing down and kind of refuse to try new thing, what can be better than a 52 ounce iced teas from Quik Trip, my little sister keeps trying new things. And not little things, Brian, her husband and her were quite comfortable living in MQP and could have stayed there for a long, long time. They switched entirely and left the big house in the suburbs for city living in the Central West End. (They tend to think healthy.) Now, all of a sudden, they are walking everywhere and running and cycling at Steel Wheels. My mother was still recovering from her hip surgery and Katie came over to help make dinner for my mother. Next thing I know there was olive oil and grilled brussel sprouts. They tasted kind of good, I remember hating them, but not something I will ever spend the extra effort to make. If there was any doubt, there is none now, Katie will definitely outlive me.
I have known for awhile that Katie was really good at her job-- raising money for Cor Jesu, but I did not realize until breakfast that she had seven people working for her. Wow! Now that Cor Jesu students are a real part of our Share Kindness service trip to Biloxi. It makes her work for these young women even more powerful. I know how special Caroline or Marianna or Liza are and the fact that Katie is making their school and their learning better is phenomenal. And the proof is in the pudding, there are and will continue to be great kids coming out of that school. In Biloxi, we have discovered athletes and comedians, goofballs and scholars, but they almost always are coming to Biloxi with a real compassion and it does not take much to get them to join are phenomenal team of returners in doing wonderful things for those who are on the margins on the Coast. I just realized right now that Biloxi is literally on the margin of our country, so Cor Jesu Chargers are helping those on the margins on the Margin.
If it was not for my choice of going to Wash U to get a Master's, probably Katie would never have met her husband. But who knows, Nature finds a way, so maybe I played no part in the development of the Thiemann clan. But Katie and Brian have raised four great kids, they might have dropped the ball Cardinal fan wise, but that has to be my only complaint. They are sharp, witty, funny kids who bring joy not only to my life, but the entire family. The "tall family" is a crazy part of our crazy family. Elise is one of the twins and is tearing it up in the business world in Chicago, I now she is successful and is doing great things. I also know that she gets to business meeting quicker after Uncle John suggested the Waze app to her. Erin was doing great things for the children of St. Louis, but now is doing great things for the children of Los Angeles. I am so proud that she keeps trying to get smarter and better in the science and the methods to help others break out of the cycle of poverty and low expectations. Kids are kids and they all need our help, so I do not really care that she is helping Dodger fans. They need our kindness and our love also. Kurt will be a full fledged high school teacher next year, and Nora is starting to make videos and is involved in video production.
Katie and Brian understood how important education is, and there is never a Thiemann family discussion for too long without the six of them suggesting books, documentaries or TV shows to make each other smarter or more knowledgeable about our world. Katie is definitely responsible for teaching her children her love of reading and her love of fiction. I remember Katie telling me years ago, that one of her kids got an A++ in summer reading. I immediately complained and start spouting off by saying that grade school teachers do a real disservice to kids by giving them these silly, superfluous grades. Katie told me that the threshold for getting an A+ for summer reading was over 800 pages and her kid had read 2700 pages that summer. I learned to shut my mouth once again.
Katie has really set the current standard for raising money for Catholic schools in the St. Louis area. When I ask her a simple question she always has an answer for how to do things better, because she is never resting and always works hard to do things better and to learn different ways to be more successful for her students and her school. I guess she did not have enough to do (ha!) so she also has started a business in her free time ?? Ten years from now I will be driving over to the track for Horse Hooky and Katie will have decided to start writing a novel in her 60s.
We used to have 6 adults in our family and now we are on our way to almost 20. Everybody has there own way of doing things, and since everybody reads and continues to pursue their own knowledge and their own expertise, often we think we are always right. I have it easy as I can express my opinion in a vacuum, they tend to be extreme, but the good wife/partner has never materialized to reign me in. Hopefully, I now do some of that dampening myself but Katie, Mary, and Tom might disagree. Families are tough and it is hard work to move forward as a unit when we all are convinced our way is the right way. Katie has done a great job lately of letting me know she believes in me and loves me when we sometimes have different opinions of how to move this family to the next stage. I tell my students when they are overwhelmed by the choices of college or the next steps in their lives, there are probably 10 good choices. Just pick one and then do your best to be apart of that college and their spirit. This is what community looks like. Right now, we probably have 10 great ideas on how to move forward as a family and to give back to our parents a small fraction of the love that Jane and Jack have given to all of us. There might be a hiccup along the way and I hope all of us understand that each of us is making their own best decisions out of love.
Mary, Tom, and Katie are all in the top 5 of people I love. I have to remember to listen to them when obstacles or circumstances make us face some tough decisions. I might have to come back and bookmark this post and remind myself of everything my little sister has accomplished and how smart she is. I know she loves me and will always love me. She is great, and half sold me on the olive oil, grilled brussel sprouts-- but seriously isn't there a can of Green Giant vegetables she could have opened.
No comments:
Post a Comment