Just got back from the feast. The
head count at meal time was 25, and the spread was bigger and more varied than I've ever seen (Mr. Langthorn even made the same comment in his toast, thanking the cooks). I met a guy named Richard who teaches Medieval Philosophy, who sat on my right. Steve actually wound up on the other side of me (since Nuri sat me at the "head" table). Unfortunately, the people I know with this group are the ones who know the most people, so I got about 5 minutes with Theresa at the beginning, participated briefly in a discussion that had been going on before dinner between Steve, Jake, and other unknown parties about the existence of freewill. I happen to have a firm opinion on the subject and found a way to express it succinctly that fit in with the flow of things. After that, I was left to talk to Richard. I told him my history with the Society, found out he played tag-a-long husband and took care of the kinds while his wife finished her PhD, and...yeah...
Once the table cleared out a bit Steve came back and told me all about his trip to
Greece with another group of students. This one was apparently a special experience. You can certainly find out more about that from Steve and Nuri, if not online then I'll see what I can link you.
Here's Michael's toast as best as I can remember it: (Steve had spoken a moment before to the group about Heath "It is a good day!" and Mark) Michael moved to stand behind me, then said, "There are a number of former members that couldn't be with us today, but there is one in particular that needs mentioning...Chris Petty, his wife" (here, there were several voices raised in enthusiastic assent, or versions of, "Oh, we can't forget her." ...in a good way, keep your ) Then he gave a capsule history of how you got launched on your current trajectory. His toast was to the hard work and dedication you put forth on that loom project that put you in a position to be where you are now.
As I was typing that paragraph a had a, "Aaaw! Sudden realization of perfect thing to have said!" moment. Doesn't matter though. Those who know you witnessed it, those who didn't would have suspected a loving husband of exaggerating (which I would not have). Since I'm too late to tell them, I'll tell you, to remind you of the mountain you've already climbed.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what you've heard is correct, but bear in mind that except for being borrowed as a thesis for a term paper or two, none of the research she did on the loom during her time at UCO had much to do with the loom. She was also busy earning a dual bachelor's degree in History and English, and doing a mother's share of raising three kids. In addition to these things she was doing for herself and her family, she was President of the Medieval Society for several years and
heavily involved in it every year since we moved here. As a student in Dr. Law's class with Chris, there was one thing you could count on come test time. She would organize a study group, instigating, planning, coordinating, and can anyone who ever attended one ever remember showing up and not having some sort of home-made snack on hand? Finally, when she first joined the Society, the previous Representative in the student-body
House of Representatives had left and she agreed to take up the job. Once there, she was placed on the Ways and Means Committee, the major annual task of which is to receive the budget requests from all the student activities groups and use them to determine the next year's budget. However, because student body organizations have such a high roll-over of officers, many of them didn't understand the system that was in place, and the system that was in place was...well, frankly...I think it was created for a much smaller student body and never fixed because by then it was "in the constitution." Budgets were handed in en mass just days before the Ways and Means Committee deadline for submitting the finished budget, many times improperly filled out in one way or another, forcing members of the committee (busy students, all) to put in marathon hours sorting through these forms. The result was that when the budget was done, many groups didn't get funds they needed and there was money left over which got dropped into a 'Rainy Day Fund' ...first come...first served.
"Well, you can probably guess by now she wasn't going to like this situation much, but she dutifully put in her marathon hours for two years then set about like a one-woman-army to fix it. In the end, I think it wound up rewriting a chunk of constitution. Ladies and gentlemen, to give some idea how grateful the
student body government and their sponsors were to this were to this one woman, they passed a bill into law on her last day as the Med Society Representative, making February 5 every year, 'Christina Petty Day.' So here's to my wife, whose abilities, strength, and the beauty of her spirit that she gives to everything and everyone around her so freely still leave me breathless."
Happy Birthday!
Love
your Huz
