Where have we been?

You may be wondering: Where the heck is Kate? A new children's book on evolution was just released, the movie about Darwin's life is now showing in more cities and Darwin Day is coming up fast. No blog posts from Charlie's Playhouse? No Facebook updates, tweets or newsletters from the evolution lady?

The truth is, I'm at a standstill. My big brother Matt died of cancer on January 25th at age 46.

Why is this news for you, someone who likes Charlie's Playhouse but has never met Matt? Here's why.

Time was, I had a decent career researching women's reproductive health. Inexplicably, I also itched to leave that career to make evolution toys. Matt loved the idea and we talked about it often, tossing around game designs and ways to present evolutionary ideas to kids.

I tried to talk myself out of starting this business, but Matt's diagnosis was a kick in the pants. If Matt, or any of us, could be diagnosed with terminal cancer tomorrow, why not take the road that brings the most joy? Why not do the thing that will make Matt and me laugh together for the last few years of his life? Matt tended to choose the oddball path in his life, and he inspired me to take mine. So if it weren't for Matt, Charlie's Playhouse wouldn't exist.

Thanks for that, Moose. I'm so damn lucky to have been your sister.

OK, now that's off my chest and I'll return to chipper evolution-related updates, I promise.