The Dragonfly Story

Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water

under the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle

in a community of water beetles. They lived a simple

and comfortable life in the pond with few

disturbances and interruptions.

Once in a while, sadness would come to the community

when one of their fellow beetles would climb

the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again.

They knew when this happened; their friend was dead,

gone forever.

Then, one day, one little water beetle felt

an irresistible urge to climb up that stem.

However, he was determined that he would not leave forever.

He would come back and tell his friendswhat he had found at the top.

When he reached the top and climbed out of the water

onto the surface of the lily pad, he was so tired,

and the sun felt so warm, that he decided he must take a nap.

As he slept, his body changed and when he woke up,

he had turned into a beautiful blue-tailed dragonfly

with broad wings and a slender body designed for flying.

So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty

of a whole new world and a far superior way of life

to what he had never known existed.

Then he remembered his beetle friends

and how they were thinking by now he was dead.

He wanted to go back to tell them,

and explain to them that he was now more alive

than he had ever been before.

His life had been fulfilled rather than ended.

But, his new body would not go down into the water.

He could not get back to tell his friends the good news.

Then he understood that their time would come,

when they, too, would know what he now knew.

So, he raised his wings and flew off

into his joyous new life!

~Author Unknown~

Katie,

I've missed you so much since you left us. Every single day there is something that sparks a fond memory of you. You lifted so many people up in your time on this earth with your love, humor and friendship. I carry my memories of you everywhere I go and I am grateful for those memories.

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord,

Who abide in His shadow for life,

Say to the Lord, "My Refuge,My Rock in Whom I trust."

And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,

Bear you on the breath of dawn,

Make you to shine like the sun,

And hold you in the palm of His Hand.

The snare of the fowler will never capture you,

And famine will bring you no fear;

Under His Wings your refuge,

His faithfulness your shield.

And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,

Bear you on the breath of dawn,

Make you to shine like the sun,

And hold you in the palm of His Hand.

You need not fear the terror of the night,

Nor the arrow that flies by day,

Though thousands fall about you,

Near you it shall not come.

And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,

Bear you on the breath of dawn,

Make you to shine like the sun,

And hold you in the palm of His Hand.

For to His angels He's given a command,

To guard you in all of your ways,

Upon their hands they will bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,

Bear you on the breath of dawn,

Make you to shine like the sun,

And hold you in the palm of His Hand.

And hold you in the palm of His Hand.

Prayer of St. Francis

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

When I think of this prayer I think of Katie and other special people like her. As her friend or loved one you were the recipient of the kind of compassion described by St. Francis. The line "For it is in giving that we receive" particularly makes me think of Katie. She gave endlessly to those she loved and nothing brought her more joy than making someone happy. I know I was on the receiving end of her understanding, consolation, love, light, and hope more times than I can ever possibly count. For me, and I'm sure for many others, Katie was an instrument of God's peace. Always there, always helping, always caring, always making things better. How blessed we all were to have known and loved her, and to be known and loved by her. -Kay

I found this photo in your email ... it was sent by a close friend of yours. Your graduation was such a wonderful time! The party you threw was a grand event to celebrate such a momentous event in your life. I remember laughing with you, and crying too, that Mom wasn't there to share such a moment. We talked about how you wished she had been able to be there with you, how you wished she could help you decorate your house and be there for you. A short time later, you and I cried about how we wished Dad was there to share our lives, be proud of our accomplishments, share a pizza with us, watch Survivor, and share in every aspect of what we were doing. I sit here wishing I could share that same thing with you. Mary and I celebrated her birthday. We missed you - wanting you to be there with us as we welcomed another year of her life and all of the changes that are happening. We went to the Finlayson bar - people came up to us to talk about you, they had tears in their eyes, even though they had only spent a short time with you, they remembered your spirit, the glint in your eyes, and they missed you. You touched this world more than most ever will. We all miss you, and will love you forever.

Jean

I wish I had better memory of when I was younger because I know you were there for a lot then- driving Billy and I to dance and keeping us in line, taking him to the hospital when I hit him with a golfclub (accidently of course) and later when you finished college and lived in the "Pink Barbie Room". Those are some I remember. But in the last few years you became a friend, someone I looked up to, and the one to call for advice. Every time I came home from college you were the person I wanted to see the most. We started a tradition of going out to sushi (which you introduced me to) and you got the idea of going to every place in the cities. And we did! You showed me around Uptown and took me concerts like Dave Matthews for my birthday, Jason Mraz, and Bob. But the best times in the last few years are the times I got to pay you back for all the love and experiences you gave me. You visited me at college where I got to take you a Nebraska game, and on my broke college budget got you a student ticket so we decided you would be a "grad student" and then later that night we went out to a bar, me being twenty, you were now my "mom" in case the cops dropped in. In so many ways you were like a mom to be, always there when I needed you. There was no doubt in my mind when Scott proposed that I wanted you to be my maid of honor. It made me so happy to have you there next to me. I still feel the urge to call you. You helped me through so much, and I hope I was there for you too. You were such a giving person, and I was so excited to start giving more back, I thought I would have the time. But in the time we did have, no how much I loved you and how much you did for me and it seems like so many others.

Katie - this is to you and your family.

I have debated about writing, but then finally - you can never have regrets in life. I was never graced with the presence of meeting you.
From the things I have read and heard you were a person that when you were here, made the world just a little brighter. How I came into your family's life -well.... I was with your brother Matt on the day that you passed away.
He was out in my area in South Dakota to pheasant hunt. We had not been friends too long before this. When I spoke to him he had just shortly arrived in SD and told me of the news. I just said I would come and get him and and I would get him on a plane out of Pierre in the morning to Minneapolis. What is even more unusual is this is the first time your brother and I met. He so desperately wanted to get to Minneapolis and be with your family.
You could just feel the hurt within his heart.


I feel I have a very strange connection to you and your family. I am grateful that I could be there for him and I hope I provided comfort to one of your siblings. It was so evident by all the phone calls and emotions that your family was so very close and loved you very much.
Katie I am so sorry that you were not able to experience more of life.
You sound like you had such a giving and beautiful soul. I just had to write to let you know that you touched one more life - not by your physical presence, but by the kind of person that your memory has personified. It has reminded me of what kind of person we are and what legacy we will leave behind.

You and your family have been in my thoughts and prayers.

Perhaps, they are not stars in the sky,
but rather openings,
where our loved ones shine down
to let us know they are happy.

Lisa -

The Blue Wonder

I was thinking of Katie recently when a random memory surfaced - that of her old trusty car, the Blue Wonder. The picture above is a somewhat accurate representation found on the Internet. The Wonder was driven off into the sunset long before the advent of digital photography so this photo will have to do. The Blue Wonder was no ordinary college student beater car. First of all it had a name...something my two-tone Ford Escort never warranted. Secondly it was a powder blue Toyota Corona. That is not a typo; the make was actually a Corona, not a Corolla. This was a source of confusion anytime the Wonder needed service. Once when a new windshield was in order the glass company brought one for a Corolla despite Katie's best attempts to make them understand what kind of car they would find when they arrived. The Blue Wonder had seen better days by the time it became Katie's. I don't know for sure, but I suspect it was the Guzik family car at one point in time. In its day it was probably somewhat of a luxurious automobile. It had plush, velvety, baby blue interior and if I'm not mistaken, power windows and locks. My first memory of the Blue Wonder is that is smelled faintly of sour milk. The story behind the smell has been forgotten but I think many attempts were made to rid the car of the odor, to no avail. The body of the Wonder had spots of bondo, which only added to its character and the engine made interesting noises. This car shuttled us many places during our college years. Trips back and forth to St. John's, rides into St. Cloud for groceries, road trips to the cities for various types of amusement and also to visit the Guzik home. Whenever the Blue Wonder was parked in the driveway, Wally made sure to check the oil and the tires and give it a clean bill of health before we girls piled into it again and headed for our next stop. If I recall correctly there was also a medallion or picture of a saint on the back of the sun visor. Probably St. Christopher, the patron saint of travel, to protect us in our comings and goings. The new found freedom of college was definitely enhanced by our ability to take to the open road, compliments of Katie and her Blue Wonder. We were never sure if we trusted it fully to get us from point A to point B but I don't recall there ever being an incident. For that I thank St. Christopher, and of course Wally. -Kay

You Never

You never said I'm leaving
You never said goodbye

You were gone before I knew it,

And only God knew why

A million times I needed you,

A million times I cried

If Love alone could have saved you,

You never would have died

In Life I loved you dearly

In death I love you still

In my heart you hold a place,

That no one could ever fill

It broke my heart to lose you,

But you didn't go alone

For part of me went with you,

The day God took you home.

-Matt

Bubble Fight Katie

I have so many wonderful memories that Katie helped create for me and my family. Here is the one that earned Katie the nickname "Bubble Fight Katie" with my kids.



Katie came to spend the weekend with us in Eveleth a few years back. When she arrived my daughters were upstairs playing in the bathtub. Katie put down her backpack and immediately headed up the stairs to go and say hello to the kids. They had been asking "when is Katie going to be here" all day so as soon as they saw her I heard the laughter begin. After a couple of minutes I heard the jets on the bathtub turn on and Katie's mischievous laugh accompanied by the laughter of the kids echoed down the stairway. The laughter continued for a few minutes and knowing Katie to be, well, Katie I figured I better go upstairs and check things out for myself. After all, I didn't want to miss out on whatever fun Katie had conjured up. As I rounded the corner in the hallway I was met with a wall of bubbles up to my waist. Katie was standing in the entry to the bathroom and she was covered in bubbles. The girls were still in the tub. The bubbles had risen above their heads by this point but that hadn't stopped them. Katie and the girls continued to sling bubbles at each other and laughing hysterically. The kids never forgot that moment and to this day my daughters refer to her as bubble fight Katie.