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At Christmas and in January I know that Kara's friends and especially her family can hardly think of anything but missing her. To try to lift their spirits and to find some comfort myself, I share these memories of Kara as a young girl. My daughter Laura and Kara were childhood playmates. Kara, Kara, Kara, was there ever a girl so full of it? I mean, she had spunk! As a young girl, she loved to climb trees higher than anyone or to run faster or ride bikes farther . . . well she just had a spirit about her from an early age! When she sold lemonade at the corner of her neighborhood, she yelled just a little louder or grinned just a little longer at the passersby. When she invented and wrote the "Orvilton News" with Laura, she giggled just a little more over the local items and sold the issues just a little more vigorously. As Laura's mom, I remember Kara even addressing an afternoon's doldrums with a favorite activity. She would cut up little strips of paper and then write an idea of something to do on each one. The girls would put these strips in a hat and draw them out until they found "the one" that pleased them for the afternoon's activity. In this and so much more, it was not so much what she did or invented as how she did it all with a sparkle in her eye that just endeared her to us all. When I look through our photo albums, I see the spunk in Kara everywhere . . . she didn't just pose on her cross country skiis, she kicked one up in a jaunty way. On the float on Caz Lake she loved to clown around in front of the camera. . At the picnic table she gave a mischievous smirk as she played cards . . . In a word, Kara was a lot of fun, even at a young age. If we can find a way to savor life, it will be in honor of Kara. She taught us all to live life to its fullest. We know she is grinniong yet as she walks with God and waits for us in His heaven. We love you Kara.
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