We Love You Erik

Steve and I had a whirlwind of a weekend. We had such a great time going back to our college town Eau Claire for Hockey Alumni and a baby shower. Well Steve obviously didn't go to the baby shower but I did for a cute little mom that has barely popped out and she's 8 months along with her little boy.

I'm way bigger than her.

It depresses me... but it's okay.

We decided to return home Saturday night to make sure we get a good night's sleep. Sunday we had another friend's baby getting dedicated at church. It's amazing how a complete emotional high of seeing friends and God's work can go to an emotional low.

Right after church Steve and I went to Verizon to get his phone fixed. While we were there he noticed he received 4 missed calls from 4 different people all from back in his hometown. He knew something was immediately up. So he grabbed my phone, listened to his messages, and found out his best friend from high school passed away.

Completely and utterly crushed we left without getting his phone fixed, headed home to pack a quick bag, and headed for Onalaska. There were no plans for a funeral at this time but it just felt like we needed to be home. That is where we needed to be to grieve.

Steve and Erik grew up on the same street, played all the same sports and were just major goofballs. We had a lot of fun looking through old pictures noticing Erik's big smile or goofy faces, making fun of Erik's glasses and bowl cut. For some reason Steve was always envious of his hair cut. It's amazing how these two young boys turned into handsome strapping young men.



I didn't get to know Erik that well but one of my favorite stories of him is from our wedding. We asked him to be an usher and he was thrilled. And Steve was just excited for him to be able to share in his special day. It's his best buddy!

We had about an hour between photos and the actual ceremony where we ate, did a little hangin out...

I beat up some people in Foosball. Steve and a couple other buddies were playing ping-pong. A couple buddies that should be upstairs.

Upstairs maybe doing their job for our wedding.

It wasn't until 10 minutes before the ceremony that one of the groomsmen look at Erik and says... "Dude, aren't you suppose to be ushering?"

Erik completely forgot. And what I love about him most. He doesn't freak out and run up, he simply said "Oh yeah..." and casually mozies (sp) his way up to the sanctuary where he stands there for a while, assesses the situation, and then just grabs a stack of programs and starts handing them out. While the other usher is frantically doing what an usher is suppose to do, grabs an arm and ushers the guests down the aisle.

Steve and I laugh about that often. Because it wasn't Steve who noticed that Erik should maybe quit playing ping-poing. Those two always had a way of just enjoying each other and forgetting about all the other stuff going on. Whether it was playing King-of-the-Hill, baseball, Steve making Erik put on goalie pads and taking slap shots at him on Cloverdale Road, Smear-the-Monkey, ping-pong, basically any game or competition where those two could love each other and beat each other up at the same time.

It's funny how boys and men express their love for each other I always think. But Steve truly loved him and we could use all the prayers in the world right now as we are missing him. Especially Steve.

We love you Erik and we'll miss you dearly.