“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye” (taken from “The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry )
What is essential that is invisible to the eye is love. Kelly had a great capacity for love and forgiveness. I remember the first day I held Kelly, my niece and goddaughter, she was such a little bundle of joy. As she grew from a babe in arms to a toddler to a little girl – she was always motion in action. She was a “hugger and lover” right from the start. She was born into a family where love would be tested to the limits as her brother less than two years older than she would face his own life-long challenges. She learned compassion and care for Kevin, her disabled older brother. Many times Kelly had to “give up” her time with mom or dad because Kevin needed them. She didn’t begrudge the situation; she helped out where she could. You see what is essential is invisible to the eye.
As some of you know Kelly and Chris were involved with 4H mostly in the Clown Club area. I sewed Kelly’s first costume and she took the name “Pokey”. It was a two-fold choice, partly because she loved polka-a-dots and partly because she was not too concerned about being on time. Her dad once said, “Kelly has two speeds, slow and stop”. But nevertheless she found happiness in the clown club. It was a way to share her love with others, to bring smiles and laughter into a crowd. She helped younger kids to “learn the tricks of the trade” of being a clown.
Kelly always felt more comfortable with children and younger kids. After she graduated from High School she took classes at Waukesha County Technical College in early childhood education. She understood children and she thought like them. Most of us begin like Kelly full of excitement and wonder at the great big world around us. All of us yearn for unconditional love and acceptance but as we age and grow as adults sometimes we forget that what is essential is invisible to the eye and we develop ways of dealing with our environment.
Some of us excel in problem solving and become the “fixers”. Some of us have talents for organization or directing traffic and become the “comptrollers”; while others are gifted with mathematical skills and become “financial wizards.”
Kelly was not necessarily blessed with any of these gifts but she was blessed with a deep well of love and the ability to forgive others. More than once Chris would say, “Kelly would give you the shirt off her back and not think twice about it.” Kelly only saw the good in people and sometimes those whom she considered “friends” would abuse that trust. She would forgive and welcome those friends back into her life. Some of us might think she was naïve or gullible, some might even think that she “just didn’t get it.” And maybe that is partly true but to Kelly it didn’t really matter because what is essential is invisible to the eye and she looked at the world from her heart and not her head.
Kelly experienced the unconditional love that she yearned for in the birth of her two daughters, Mekayla and Ryanna. She loved them and did the best she could for them. They spent time together, singing, drawing and exploring the world. The many pictures on Facebook show how happy this little was.
I am so blessed to have been Kelly’s aunt and godmother. She shared her love with me as she did with everyone. While we never really talked about it I know that she understood the words of St. Paul, “In the end three things remain; faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is love.” Kelly life and gift to us is her love, may it remain with each of us.