GRETCHEN
HUKILL DEPASQUALE
Chip, Gretchen Laura and David,
Christmas 2000
Things I got from my parents:
• Blue eyes
• Brown hair
• Fair skin
• Shyness (Dad only)
• Talkativeness (Mom only)
• Stick-to-it-iveness
• Enjoyment of music
• Lots of love
• A listening ear
• Someone always in my corner, even if I'm wrong
• Love of fruitcake and mince meat pie
• Sensitivity
• Sense of fairness
• Honesty
• Daily need for a nap
• The importance of the spiritual in life
• Love of history
• Tendency toward perfectionism
• Love of reading
• My sister
I could go on and on with this list, but you get the idea. Thanks, Mom
and Dad and Happy Anniversary.
TRACI RAE HUKILL
Eric and Traci, Christmas 2003
I was 9 or 10 years old when I realized that not everybody's
grandparents were sweethearts like mine. Some were cranky, or worse,
mean- an unimaginable thought! The harsh realities just kept coming. In
a few years I started to figure out that a lot of my friends' parents
weren't still married, like my folks were. And then I began to get the
picture that not
everyone was lucky enough to have parents who are loving, supportive
and nonjudgmental of their children. Over the years I've just become
more grateful for that. It really is the best gift one human can give
to another.
And over the years I've also come to recognize that your marriage is an
unusually close and strong one. The writer Kurt Vonnegut has a term for
it: a nation of two. I'll leave it to you to decide who's president and
who's Speaker of the House - although you've obviously worked out those
checks and balances to your satisfaction by now- and sign off with this
simple sentiment: Congratulations on 50 extraordinary years together.
May you enjoy many more in each other's
cherished company.
Love,
Traci
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