Recent Events

Most have already heard about the recent news of my father-in-law, Roger Grooters. He was 66 years-old and cycling across America to raise money for the victims of the Gulf Coast Oil Spill when he was suddenly and tragically hit by a motor vehicle on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at 9 am. He and my mother-in-law, Vicki were on their way to our house in Tallahassee and expected to arrive later that day. The call that I received from Vicki that morning at 10 am was supposed to be her giving me an ETA for them to get to Tallahassee. We had plans that our staff photographer was going to meet up with them as they came into town to take some photos of him for a story they were going to run in my company's Emerald Coast magazine. Obviously, the news that I got on the other end was a devastating blow and not at all expected. It all still feels like a really bad dream. We will miss Roger so much and if I had one wish to be granted it wouldn't be to see him complete his ride, it would be to see him once more at our house. To hug him and kiss him and tell him how very much he meant to us and how dearly we loved him. It's been a very hard week. The hardest of my life!



We love you Papa and would give anything to see that glowing smile again! Our family along with some other cyclists plan to complete the remaining portion of the ride to Jacksonville to dip the front tire in the Atlantic.

In other news, and I recognize that it is far less important at this point, but on September 29th Ben started the process of buying into his dental practice in Tallahassee. Which means that we are going to take the leap and on October 29th and I will become a stay at home mom. So, that's the BIG family news from my last post. What this means for us, is that we hope to actually use the weekends to unwind and spend quality time as a family, rather than running errands, doing laundry and cleaning house. One thing that we have really learned from this whole terrible accident is how very important family is and how we really should take this time to enjoy every precious minute that we have on this Earth.

We really appreciate everyone's love and support during this grieving time. There aren't any words that can take the pain away of losing a loved one, but the words that everyone has sent us do help to know that so many people are thinking about us and praying for us. The past week as we sat around the table and laughed and cried while telling stories about Roger and sharing fond memories, it has been so nice to not have to worry about meals, work and other obligations. We are so thankful for family, friends and loved ones in our life. Thanks again to everyone! We love you.