ABOUT KATIE
IT'S BEEN AN ADVENTURE
Katie was born on the afternoon of 14th July by c-section after discovering she was breech and the fluid had mostly disappeared. She came screaming into the world watched by Grandma at the operation end and mum and dad behind the screen. A small baby, we had to go out and buy early baby clothes. I immediately started calling her "mouse" because she was so small and cute and had fluffy dark hair. I had no idea this would become her name at school given by her closest friends.
SCHOOL
Katie was always quiet, hated the limelight and would hide at the back of any room until she felt comfortable to step out, usually when she eventually made a close friend. She loved her friends and preferred a small number and was fiercely loyal to them, until they pushed too far. Once she's done, she's done. It's a trait I admire. She will always be polite and doesn't hold a grudge, but she won't let them close again.
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School was not Katie's favourite place, she struggled with learning and, although bright and kind and willing to sit and listen, she just always felt unhappy there.
ANIMALS
As you can see from the photos and videos, Katie has always loved animals. She had a close bond with our German Shepherd Amber and loved her guinea pigs, hamsters and tortoise. She enjoys horse riding and would love her own, but mum is allergic!
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Katie was always brilliant at negotiating around animals. Horse riding came about as part of "Duke of Edinburgh", which she promptly dropped the minute she got her lessons. No D of E but we still pay for riding 4 years later. See the "negotiating a hamster video" for what mum had to put up with, this came after posters appeared all around the house with budget plans, power point presentations about hamsters and instructions on how to build a hamster palace. Then there was the dog. I don't want another dog but undeterred, Katie negotiated a puppy for her grandparents that she gets to visit every few weeks.
THEME PARKS & DIRECTIONS
Katie loves a theme park. The bigger the rollercoaster the better. And once she's been, she knows her way around even if it's years between visits. She has a sense of direction not bestowed on her mum. If I forget where I've parked the car, she will always know. It's such a brilliant life skill.
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Katie thought she would like to work in her favourite place, Alton Towers, but didn't quite think through the logistics of the 3 hour journey by public transport from where we live.
DANCING AND OTHER HOBBIES
Katie danced for years as a child. The first dance class I took her to that was available (when she was 5), turned out to be a HipHop class. She came out and said THAT. WAS. NOT. BALLET!!! So we found her a ballet class asap.
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When asked to choose between ballet, tap and modern so we didn't have to take out a mortgage for costumes, she couldn't decide so hours were spent sat outside dance studios and paying a fortune for all the shows, but it was worth it to see her creep a little bit out of her shell. She did shows and tried her best, even when it was clearly uncomfortable.
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Then she tried gymnastics at school and was very good, she always loved swimming, especially when she realised you were allowed to swim underwater and not on top of it, and once her sister taught her how to swim without a nose plug which would get lost and result in a major meltdown, she became a mermaid in the water.
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Katie came along to bell ringing to appease her mum but didn't really enjoy it and eventually worked out if she rang really badly, her mum knew it was too dangerous to let her. But she did tag along for the Youth Ringing Contest in London one year and beat her mum to ringing the Bow Bells (I still haven't done that).
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She also agreed to a term of karate but wasn't impressed.
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Other hobbies include makeup, eyelashes (yes, I include it as a hobby although probably more of an obsession) and doing the occasional TikTok video (although her hidden back-catalogue is impressive I believe).
KATIE BECOMES AN ADULT
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As her mum, I'm proud of the steps she's taken in the last year to go to a job and try her best, even when it's hard sometimes. To start driving lessons, learn how to communicate her needs when necessary, become stronger as a person in her own right. There are challenges behind and ahead, but with Katie's willingness to be sure of who she is, and grow into who she wants to be, I know she will live the life she chooses.
FROM ME TO YOU KATIE - YOUR MUM
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Life doesn't always go as planned, but that doesn't mean you can't change direction. You are never stuck in a decision. There is always an alternative. The only failure in life is not to try. If you try and "fail", what have you learned from it and what can you do differently?