 |
| Editor's Note: Hard to believe alcohol was not involved. Nay, but always fun with Kaara!!! |
As Sarah and I are
less than a year and half apart in age and first cousins, I have known her my
entire life. But I would not say that I
truly started to get to know her well until a Christmas visit to Oshkosh, Wisconsin
when I was a young teenager. One of the
highlights was dressing up and going out for a Progressive Dinner (unheard of
to an East-Coasterner such as myself).
We had such a good time playing games and laughing with the various
friend to whom Sarah introduced me that I felt immense disappointment when we
had to leave for the drive back to New Jersey.
Years later, Sarah
and I studied in Europe at the same time, albeit in different countries. She and a Swedish friend met up with me, some
of my friends, and our cousin, Erika, flew over to join us. I have this very clear memory of our time in
an Austrian village called Klagenfurt.
It was lovely and picturesque, as one would expect it to be, but there
was an election going on and the city was plastered with so many cheesy photos
of politicians that it became distracting.
Finally, we just embraced the moment and took several pictures of
ourselves being silly with the political ads accompanied by much giggling. Who needs the Alps when you have bad European
propoganda to entertain you?
Another fond memory from that trip was walking
to the Lichtenstein border just to get the stamp on our passports. The border guards gave us us some silly
looks, but the three minutes we spent in their country were well worth it. We were also quite amazed at all of the Holy
relics we saw in the European museums - John the Baptist's tooth being a
favorite. Sarah and I swore there was
still a locust leg hanging off of it!
I had the privilege
of living closer to Sarah for 8 years when I was a graduate student in Bloomington/Normal,
down the road from Urbana/Champaign and this is when the true raucous
activities began. I did not know anyone
in my town upon my arrival, but Sarah was eager to invite me to scavenger hunts
and contra dancing (among other things).
I will never forget playing Blatten (or was it Splatten?), which
involved Twinkies placed in the middle of the road and some group chant and
Twinkies squished by cars being eaten.
Steve and Sarah always hosted energetic and competitive Easter Egg hunts
which led one year to a participant falling into a poorly covered manhole (fortunately, he survived his injuries to
hunt another year!).
Sarah also made
sure to host a party for me on my birthday the first year I lived in Illinois
and she made me an amazing gift - a t-shirt with my picture (well, my face on
Claudie Schiffer's body, but close enough) and the words "Kaara, the Nut
GIrl" because we had seen this title given to a historical figure on our
European travels (think "William the Conquerer, only far less distinguished!). We never did know how or why that woman
earned the moniker but it was something Sarah found worth remembering and she
brought a smile to my face that day with her thoughtfulness.
The point of
sharing these memories is to emphasize that we always managed to have a
wonderful time, no matter where we were in the world, which is a quality Sarah
has always possessed and gladly shares with those who know her. There is never a dull moment or a truly gray
day if she is present, as she is quick to laugh, encourage, and love even the
most unloveable of humanity.
Geographic distance
now separates us and other responsibiilities make it difficult to see one
another as often I wish, but I am still warmed by the many wonderful memories
we have shared throughout my nearly 39 years of life. It has truly been a privilege and honor to
have such a fun-loving, yet simultaneously smart, deep, interesting person of
worth as a family member and friend. I
wish for her at least another 40 adventure-filled years and hope that she and I
can makes some more memories together in the future (don't you just picture us
running around Europe together when we are 75??!!). Until then, know that you hold a special
place in my heart.
Bon anniversaire!!
Love,
Kaara
 | |
| Editor's Note: Sarah and Kaara appear to have been photobombed by a guy in a spacesuit . Yeah, that's about right! |
 | ||
| Editor's Note: Sarah, Kaara, Rachel, and Erika--cousins all. (Nice shades, Kaara!) |
 |
| Editor's Note: More cousins. Big family, that. |
 | ||
| Easter with the cousins |
 | |
| Editor's Note: Posh Frocks. Sarah always admired the book Little Women |
No comments:
Post a Comment