Tough times

It's hard right now. There are so many things that I want to say but I have to tamper my thoughts and words and remember that the eyes of so many people are looking to our family, the Palizzi's to be strong. Ann has this strength that she must pull from some reservoir deep within. Any one else would collapse, but she just holds it all together. I saw this quote from Kristy's memory blog and thought it very appropriate for this situation.

"It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don’t worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers."

-Gordon B. Hinckley
(from the funeral of wife Marjorie)

Please continue to pray for Ann, and those two little boys. Also for Tony who is feeling the loss of his only sister a little more each day.

PS. I love my family and friends, just in case I forgot to tell you today.

Getting back to normal. . . sort of.

This is Tony writing. I got back to D.C. and started my externship at Ernst & Young on Monday. I spent three days in orientation with other new employees. I made some good connections as one guy had done transfer pricing at Deloitte, although he's now doing valuation of complex derivatives at EY, and another lady just came in from the IRS and will be working with people in transfer pricing and international tax. FYI, transfer pricing is where all the juicy IP tax stuff is. The guy is actually in the Atlanta office, so I'm not sure he'll be much help, although he might, however, the gal's office is right around the corner from my office, er, cubicle.

I found out the other day that I'll be traveling while at EY. One of the gals I work with is does tax return audits, among other things. Basically, attorneys go in after the accountants prepare tax returns to audit them from a legal perspective. She wants to take me along.

Not everything is back to normal. Stacey stayed behind in Utah indefinitely to help my mom with the kids. It's only been about a week, but I'm starting to relate to Nick Anderson.

Finally, I wanted to share something a bit funny that lightened up a rather dreary week. On Saturday we were at the cemetery after the funeral. I went up to the casket to give it a gentle kiss before leaving. Unfortunately I didn't think it through very well. I approached it from the end rather than the side. Once I put my weight on it. . . the casket started rolling away. I have no doubt Kristy got a good laugh out of that one, as did I.

Thanks for all the love and support lately.

Funeral

The funeral Saturday went as well as can be expected under such circumstances. I thought one of the hardest parts was when two friends were singing a song that talked about wiping away tears and that you'll be carried when you can't walk anymore. I don't remember what it was called but I think most people cried then. Everyone is holding up remarkably well, but we know that there will be tough times ahead for the family and the boys. Thank you for your comments and prayers. Tony's mom, Ann, has said that she can feel the love of people praying for her. Please, if you remember, pray for the boys. I think they are young enough that they'll be ok, but there will be things to work out in the future.
Thank you again on behalf of the Palizzi Family