Shirlee Katechis
Hi Y’all! I came into this world on April 6, 1941. Yep, almost 75!!! Since that day, I’ve tried to live by one rule: “Be your wild, courageous, brilliant, cheerful self EVERY SINGLE DAY – No matter what!”
My sisters Betty, Jo,and Dorothy and brothers picked cotton in the summers on our farm in Stevenson, Alabama. I hitchhiked my way out of Stevenson as a teenager in order to go find MY own way in this big, wide world. [My sisters and some of my brothers are still kicking, but it’s time for me to go!] This friggin’ iPhone and Facebook are making me CRAZY!!! To all of you that have crossed paths with me over these wonderful 75 years…I saw the best in you. I always did.
And yes, there are a few of you that got “Yaya’d”…but probably deserved it. You know who you are…it just meant that I loved you. To my lovely grandchildren – Holden, Nia, Pate, Ila, Hattie, and Wells…BE YOU. Always; just be you and be relentless about being a better YOU. That is what will make you special in this world..this world that I kicked and screamed in for so long. To my late husband, Chris…I say we just both forgive and move on. Life is too short.
To my sons Kevin, Dale, and Chris…never grow up and stay young at heart. Continue to work hard, work hard and love hard…and try to get along with each other! To my daughters-in-law, Carolyn and Christi- I’m not sure what you were thinking, but I’m glad you did. Those two boys might not have made it without you. Thank you. To those of you that I gave the wrong recipes to MY cooking (there’s a lot of you)…that was intentional. I’m sorry, but you should have been a tad smarter. And lastly, to those of you that are struggling with this or with anything for that matter…”Pull up your big girl panties and deal with it!” OK, before I go…I’m going to put a pot of beans on the stove. I’m going quickly so someone will need to take them off when they are done. You will know they are done when the smoke detector alarms. Love Always, YaYa.
P.S. Have a couple of parties for me soon after I’m gone. Specifically have one at REEB Ranch on March 20, 2016, from 4-6 p.m. The address is 315 Shoals Falls Rd., Hendersonville, North Carolina 28739. Might as well have another one the following day on March 21, 2016, from 5-7 p.m. in Colorado at REEB Ranch WEST (aka Hops and Heifers Farm) 8348 Ouray Drive, Longmont, CO 80503. Make it festive with lots of good cookin’! (Good luck with the recipes). Oh, if you feel like sending me flowers, please don’t. It would mean a lot to me if you sent your flower money to Can’d Aid Foundation, 1800 Pike Road, Longmont, CO 80501. Tell ‘em “because YaYa said so.” One more thing..I get the last word (as y’all know)…”Ain’t no point getting out of bed, if you ain’t living the dream…”
