2000 Holiday Cheer!

From a 'Stanton'® Clan

Dear Family & Friends,

It's time once again for the 6th annual Tom & Patty Show update. This is where we cram a year's worth of newsworthy information onto one page while adding a twist of humor. It's going to be a tough task this year. So much has happened and none of it was funny. In retrospect, we can laugh about some of it so let's get started, shall we?

Our web site is on our 3rd year of weekly updates. Some weeks proved shocking such as the "Skull Fracture" update. I don't think any of us will forget too quickly the time Tom received a severe slam in a mosh pit back in May, fracturing his skull in three places. Once we realized that Tom was on the road to a full recovery, the jokes and quotes came in a never-ending stream and he got a crash helmet from his friends in Cincinnati. Tom began working for Millennium Marketing (now Dia Inneractives headquartered in Ohio) back in March, leaving Ingram Micro after 7 years of employment. He's their Regional Account Manager on the left coast and he's working from home. Can you say, "cabin fever"? Yeah, Tom misses the soapbox he had at Ingram.

Would you believe Laura has begun pre-school? She finally got over that terrible habit of slam dancing with furniture, so we can now present her to the public without being reported to the authorities for child mutilation. Along with turning three came the joy of potty training. She's nailed it and we're so proud! It took her two or three times before she figured out that her parents weren't going to leave her at the Montessori school permanently and she started having a blast. She made friends immediately. Good thing she didn't inherit her mothers shyness. Don't laugh! I really am shy! Why doesn't anyone believe me when I say that?

As for the CFO and webmaster of this show, I am still working at Advanced Enterprise Solutions as Marketing Coordinator. My director/friend, Jim, left me to fend for myself and I kicked his hiney for it. I really like working for AES and I love the people I work with. The fact that I got approved to lease a laptop has nothing to do with it. Really.

The Y2K bug reared its not-so-pretty head this year, but not in the manner everyone thought it would. We lost Michael Hefflin, the officant at our wedding and surrogate brother this year in a motorcycle accident as well as our good friend, Linda "Linny" Luth. It's good to know two awesome souls are waiting for us up in heaven. Tom tried to go, but apparently he didn't have an invitation. Between accidents, relationship break-ups, surgery and medical diagnosis, chaos has touched many of us this year. I received word from The Powers That Be that they're going to go easy on us next year. They also said, "Thanks for playing."

Have an awesome holiday season and we hope to see most, if not all of you in 2001!

Much Love,

The Tom & Patty Show
Starring Laura Keith Stanton