october 27, 1975.

a month shy of exactly 36 years ago, my mom wrote a letter to her first born child....me. 


to my first born child,
today is monday. (ugh! i hate mondays!) i went to school (parkside high), went to swimming practice, came home, and now i'm babysitting.
i guess i should tell you a little bit about myself. i'm 14 years old, have short blondish-brown hair, brown eyes, and am told that i'm very pretty.
i'm going with a guy named bobby winzeler, who i love a lot!!!! we've been going together for 6 weeks this thursday.
i love to swim, play the piano and the clarinet. i swim for my school team and in jackson swim club. my best event is the 100 yard butterfly and i'm second best on the team in this event with a time of 1:21.2. i've played the piano for six years and love it. i've played the clarinet only 2 1/2 years, but am doing quite well. i'm first chair in the concert band which is the second highest band in school.
i have two sisters, Lynda 12 and Debbie 10 almost 11. they're both pretty nice, but Debbie especially can be a brat at times and is always getting Lynda or me in trouble!!! Lynda's nice and we get along good. we're very close and do a lot things together.
i have a bulldog named Gus and a siamese cat named Suki. Lynda has a hamster named Milk Dud.
we live at 5011 brookside drive in jackson, michigan.
my best friends are: julie morton, dianna heinz, carol willbee, jenny morton, carrie race, karey leach, lori thomas, tonya lehman, and kari upton. (whew!! that's a lot)
when you get this letter i'll be an old lady of 34 and you'll probably think i'm a pretty dumb parent who just doesn't understand you, but just remember i'm going through the same thing right now as you will be. i hope i can be as good a parent as my mom has been to me. more a friend than anything else. i love my parents a lot for being the kind of understanding people they are.
i wish for you a good life full of the love of God and those around you and i hope that you will follow the path and examples which i and your father (whoever that might be) have set for you.
i hope you do good in school, if they still have school then (haha) and have a lot of fun in all you do.
good luck to you all your life.
my love to you always!
your mother,
katherine gertz


i miss her so much.