tedmichalik.com » Erin

Jeannie’s Birthday

Ted — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:34:13 +0000

Today is Jeannie’s Birthday. She would have been 56 years old. A couple of days ago at work I got a pop-up reminder about it from my Outlook calendar. I had forgotten to disable it after Jeannie had passed away. I had a momentary panic attack thinking I had neglected to get her a card, cake, and gift. Reality quickly came crashing back in and I found myself feeling very alone.

I had a good day today, however. I went out to dinner with Jon and Erin. We had a great meal and a nice time. Jon got me to join his Fantasy Football League and we chatted about that and how I got screwed in the draft. The fact of it being Jeannie’s birthday was not brought up. Erin was the one who suggested we go out tonight, and I suspect that she selected it so that I wouldn’t be lonely today. I am truly blessed with a wonderful daughter.

Jeannie’s Final Resting Place

Ted — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:25:44 +0000

Erin, Jon, and I made a road trip to Block Island, RI to scatter Jeannie’s ashes at the Southeast Lighthouse. It was six months to the day since she passed away. It was not planned for an anniversary, but just happened to work out that way. Jeannie had never been to this lighthouse before, but it was one of the ones in her collection of stained glass lighthouses.

We arrived by ferry around noon and had lunch at the National Hotel. Our seats were on the front porch of the hotel where we had a great view of the harbor and the main street of the town. Jon was very impressed with their clam chowder and said it was the best he’s ever had.

After lunch, we rented bikes and rode out to the Southeast Lighthouse. We took the tour of the lighthouse and walked around the grounds. The lighthouse sits on top of Mohegan Bluff. A short distance from the lighthouse are steps that we took down to the shore.

We made our way back along the shore to a secluded spot below the lighthouse. There we scattered Jeannie’s ashes and stood in silence for a few minutes. I thought of the good times we had and how unfair it was that she was now gone. A couple of times I thought of saying what I was thinking. Each time, however, I could feel the tears start to well up so I just kept quiet.

Goodbye Jeannie. We are going to miss you.

Montage Photos

Ted — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:55:06 +0000

Many people commented on what a good job the funeral home did on the montage at Jeannie’s funeral. I finally got the individual photos used to create it uploaded to my photo gallery. Click the photo at the left to see them.

Proud Dad

Ted — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:57:11 +0000

Erin graduated from the University of Louisville yesterday with a Masters in Public Administration. I am very proud of her. Completing a degree while having a full time job is not an easy task.

I ran into a problem trying to get some photos of the event with my old digital camera. I was able to get a few shots with the cameras on my cell phones. The ones outside turned out good, but the ones indoors are pretty pitiful.

I found that my old digital camera has bit the dust. I couldn’t even get it working with brand new batteries. I thought I would have to to start shopping for a new one, but Erin said she has an old camera that I can have.