July 14th--a very special day

Eric and I are currently in Germantown, Tennessee. We are headed to Pennsylvania for my nephew's wedding. Yes, we are driving. What did you expect, a plane? There is so much less humidity here. Now you folks from out west may think that it is humid here in Tennessee because you have it as dry as a desert. But, I am telling you. After leaving Beaumont with 100 degree weather with heat indexes of 105 and 107 because of the humidity, this is heaven.

As Eric and I were driving, he turned to me and he realized it was his dad's birthday. His dad passed away on Dec. 7, 2007. Today, he would have been 80 years old. The 14th of July was also Eric's grandpa's birthday, that would be Jakob Petersen (yes, Jakob with a "k", he was born in Germany). Papa, as we called Jakob, was a great man, too. I always loved to listen to his German accent. And, oh how he loved his shnops (I don't even know if that is spelled right). I can bet my kids don't even know what "shnops" is--it was his daily shot of whiskey that he took "for his health".

Eric's dad was an amazing person. You would never find anybody kinder. I don't think I ever heard him speak badly of anybody. If there was sa conversation going on and he didn't like the tone of the conversation, he walked away. He was always one to hand out a compliment which always made my day. Dad Petersen was a quiet man. That's why when he said something funny, no matter what it was, it was really funny. And he had the best laugh. I miss that laugh (although Eric and the boys have inherited part of it). You always knew you were loved by Dad P. If you talked to him on the phone (you were lucky if you got a two minute conversation--he hated the phone), he always told you he loved you. And it is from him that we got the word "pal". It was always "I love you pal".

We miss him; but again, we know families are forever. And we will see him again when we are all reunited on the other side of the veil. Happy Birthday Dad!!