Who was KC?
My wife KC (née Kathleen Mary Bridget Chisholm) was a gifted artist and in 2007 created a website to showcase her artwork, called "Catarina Mac: American Sojourner".
She was a voracious reader, a skilled writer, she had a good ear for finding great music on the internet, and she had a real knack for getting straight to the heart of things.
But when it came to principles, to matters of conscience, to right and wrong, she would brook no compromise, she was relentless, persistent, patient and persevering regardless of the cost, regardless of the consequences.
When & Where did we Start?
KC & I first met at Newton College of the Sacred Heart (Newton, MA) at a dance (a “mixer”) held on March 24th, 1972. Normally I avoided dances and didn’t like dancing, but I'd just finished my quarterly finals and my sister had invited me, so I figured why not?
As I circled around the dance floor, this dark-haired Irish beauty caught my eye.
When I asked her if she’d like to dance, she said “No”.
Disappointed I turned and started to walk away.
Then I heard her say, “But I’ll talk”...
... and we’ve been talking ever since.
What about Now?
Three months before our 49th wedding anniversary, KC passed away peacefully at home. We'd talked and she'd been singing (she called it her "vocal exercises") earlier that morning.
Since I was almost four years older than her, and actuarial tables being what they are, we'd always assumed that I'd go first, and planned accordingly.
But she had suffered various painful maladies all of her life, starting at birth.
After delivery, they kept her in the hospital because they didn't think she would survive.
Among other things, there were heart issues. This went on for a full month.
But that's another story...
Her Life & the Holy Spirit
She loved to sketch, paint, and take photographs.
She was very intuitive and loved to explore. She would always prowl the thrift stores, on the hunt for interesting books and records, period kitchenware or furniture, vintage clothing, an occasional print or picture frame, and she especially enjoyed finding old photographss - sometimes whole albums.
Starting sometime in mid-2018, she was asked (by someone who loved her very much) why she didn't paint much anymore. As she relayed to me later, "I thought about it and replied "I'm waiting for the Holy Spirit to guide me".
Not long afterwards, she started getting wonderful ideas for paintings, one after another.
Inspired like never before, she got to work! She called these her "Spirit Paintings" because she knew they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Working constantly, she'd completed seven of these over the next few years, and had just completed composing an eighth one. But, again, that's another story...
Spirit Paintings - Introduction & Process