There are few people in my life that have had a greater impact on me than my Godmother, Kate. She hasn’t always been my godmother, though. The Godmother on my baptismal certificate is not in my life anymore, so Kate is my “adopted Godmother.” And although she’s only been my Godmother for three or so years, she’s been the best role model that I’ve had in my life to this day.

Technically, I’ve known Kathryn Elizabeth Marzec since I was in the womb. When my Mom was pregnant with me, Kate was just a teenager in high school. It was very fitting that this couple with a new born baby on the way moved in right next to her, because it was a perfect babysitting opportunity. So when I was born, Kate was hired. Her job was not an easy one. I’ve heard countless stories about from when I was young and I would throw SpaghettiOs at our white kitchen walls or spend hours in her basement choosing a board game for us to play. I gave her a challenge, and she accepted.

As I grew older, Kate became very close with our family. She was invited to birthday parties, soccer games, swim meets, holiday dinners, you name it. Growing up as an only child was always pretty hard on me, but having her around a lot made it feel like I wasn’t alone. And as I got older, I started confiding in her more and more. She helped me through some pretty rough patches in my life, and for that I will always be in debt to her.

Today, I consider her to be one of the most important people in my life. She has been a role model for me throughout the years, and she has taught me so many things about life that I could not have learned on my own. She has taught me how to be my own person and to make decisions for myself. She’s taught me that mistakes are life’s greatest lessons if you chose to learn from them. Kate has taught me that I am stronger and wiser than I believe, and she has challenged me to make the right choices and be the best version of myself.

Katie, I know you’ve had to overcome quite a few struggles in your life. You continue to amaze me and inspire me, and to this day I am so grateful that you chose to be my Godmother. Thank you for understanding me like nobody else does, and making an effort to be in my life, and being a constant role model for me even when you don’t realize it. Thank you for telling me to become a Spartan, because choosing green and white has been one of the best decisions of my life. Thank you for being not only my godmother, but my best friend and the older sister I never knew I wanted. Thank you for being you. Never forget to toast it up, toaster.

Love you forever,

LP