As Is the Tradition
I know I owe you all some trip anecdotes, etc. but I’m putting that on hold because, well, it’s my birthday!Nathalie, my French host mom, informs me that this is a grim birthday for someone in my position -- or at least that November 25th will be a day of special humiliation if I’m not rescued from my plight before then. :o) What Nathalie did was acquaint me with St. Catherine’s Day, which I’ve been meaning to look into as I’m a Katherine myself. “What’s the deal with St. Catherine’s Day?”, you ask? Well, Catherine just so happens to be the patron saint of, uh, single gals. And guess when the spinster clock begins a-ticking (according to tradition): good old twenty-five, which is my age as of today! Should I be in France on Nov. 25th this year (doubtful), friends might bombard me with green (for wisdom) or yellow (for faith) outrageous hats for me to don for the day, throughout which I should make my prayers to St. Catherine for, you guessed it, a husband.
Ha! Don’t worry, I know the Sunday School answers regarding singleness and, to my complete astonishment, I generally live them. God has given me a peace in my single state that I imagined at one point to be impossible for someone who wants to marry. It’s truly amazing that I can be content, even having the desire for something else. How does God do that?!
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In other birthday news, I got my card from my dad’s folks yesterday. To explain anew, my grandpa makes these birthday cards himself, always with a long salutation denoted only in initials on the front. One is to “break the code” before opening the card up to the answer. This year’s salutation was as follows:
To Our Favorite
GNK
WSLAL
TETFK
ATTCT
WLY
WAG!
I was confident of all but “ATTCT” before I checked inside, but even for that I had divined the two key words. Any guesses before I reveal the real deal?
posted by Kate @ 12:42 AM
12 Comments:
Granddaughter named Kate
Who sings like a lark,
Teaches English to French kids,
And travels the continent, too.
We love you.
What a gal!
I'm close, aren't I?
BESS
By the way,...Happy Birthday, Sis!!! I have pleasant memories of making "St. Catherine's Day hats" in French club at LHS. I was always a little foggy on what they were for, though.
Hope your day is fun and festive.
BESS
ATTCT
And Tells the Correct Time ...
Happy birthday, Kate! 25 is a good year. ; )
-RT
Happy Birthday Kate. I hope you are having a wonderful day.
Feliz cumpleaños!
Happy Birthday!
Bonne Anniversaire!
:)
Happy 25th Birthday Kate! I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating. You are amazing! I am so happy that you are able to celebrate your birthday in France- dreams becoming reality. Sending my love from a very chilly Chicago.
Emily
PS I just adopted a cat last week. He is such a lover. He is an orange tiger with beautiful yellow green eyes. The poor fellow is nameless. Eric and I have been brainstorming- Gilbert (from Anne of Green Gables), Wilmer, Carl, Knut, Lloyd (a tribute to the wonderful Lloyd Dobler from Say Anything. A great movie). But none of them are really sticking. Do you know of any good French names that might be appropriate? I would love your input.
Happy Birthday! It seems like you're having a good laugh over St. Catherine. Good for you!
Having read Rena's email about your recent trip to England, I am so glad to hear it went well and you gals had a great time. On an interesting note, Susie Hall and I were accepted at CMRS for Fall 2006... so as Rena and Lindsay return home, we will be taking their place. It's so crazy!
Blessings!
Granddaughter Named Kate
....
....
....
We love you
What a gal!
I stink at these. :)
Thanks for all the well-wishing, guys!
I meant to say it earlier, but boy, BESS is spot on! Félicitations, girlie! It just goes to show what practice can do for such puzzling puzzles. I know I’m shocked and proud that I did as well as I did this year!
EM: Great to hear from you!!! My French family recommends you name him Spirou (spee-roo) of the “Spirou et Fantasio” comics, Spirou being a character who always wears red and has orange hair. They also mentioned Abricot (ah-bree-coh), which of course means Apricot. As your cat’s a boy, you’d probably want to shorten that to Bricot before Abby. :o) The family actually took in a cat shortly after my arrival and her name is Tiramisu, or Misu (mee-soo) for short. She’s due to have kittens soon!
JILL: That’s so exciting that you and Susie are going to CMRS this fall!! I think you both will love it and thrive. Please keep me in the loop on this!
Wow, Bess! I was going to give it a try until Kate gave you the thumbs up!
I want to hear more of your stories, Kate!
Praying for your future husband...=)
Jessica
Oh! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY! HOw could I forget?!
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