Who Would’ve Thought

November 18, 2025

Dear {Name Redacted},

A funny, bittersweet memory hit me tonight. This is what I would say to you if we still talked.

Do you remember when we hiked Lunch Creek Trail in the summer of 2023?

That was such a good hike.

We found a frog.

You scared off a bear—well, we scared it off, and you didn’t see it, but whatever.

It still counts.

We talked about all kinds of things while on the trail.

It was so easy and natural.

I remember telling you I was thinking about running for public office.

Back then, I figured it would be City Council.

Things were complicated, and I thought maybe I could help.

You discouraged me from running for City Council and suggested school board instead.

We had a genuinely positive conversation about it.

I appreciated your thoughts, your reasoning, your insight.

And after thinking about it—really thinking about it—and having a few conversations with sitting board members, I decided to run for school board.

So I don’t totally blame you. Only like… 37%.

Heart emoji,

Katherine

Who would’ve thought that just over two years later, we’d be here.

Me feeling the nerves and weight of a recall election happening today.

And us not speaking at all, after everything—after all the intimacy, the time, the history.

Dang.