fire extinguishers
My youngest grandson, Josh Petersen ended his 25th year of life by packing up his wife, Athena Petersen and their sons, Justin and Axel, and moving them to Lawton, Oklahoma. The day they left town was such a sad day for those of us left behind, and while it was also sad for them, they went with a sense of adventure too. I can’t blame them for feeling the excitement of the move, but of course, I am one of those left behind. For us, their parents, grandparents, siblings, niece and nephews, there is an empty space that now lives in our lives. Nevertheless, we will find creative ways to stay close to these loved ones too.
Josh will begin his 26th year with a new job. He is still doing the same work he was in Casper…recharging fire 
extinguishers, but now he will be working at Fire Pros, LLC in Lawton. This was a step up for him, as he is making five dollars more an hour than he was here in Casper. Josh has to improve himself, especially when he and Athina are expecting their third son at the end of January. He rather fell into this work and was trained well at All Out Fire in Casper, and his new employer saw the great value in having a pre-trained employee on staff. He jumped at the chance to hire Josh. Josh had wanted to be a firefighter when he went to college, but his knees would not allow him to do so. This is for him, the next best option. It may not always be what he wants to do, but I know that whatever he decides to do, he will excel at, because Josh is a hardworking man, who is very loyal to his employers. He always has been, and we are very proud of his work ethic.
Josh is also a loyal family man and is always willing to sacrifice his needs to make sure his wife and sons have everything they need. Josh met Athena when they were in middle school, and as often happens, they didn’t 
know that this was their forever love, until much later when they ended up working together. I think they knew the minute they found out they were working together, however. The rest is history, as they say. In short order they were married, had two sons, and have one on the way. They love taking the boys to the park, and other places of interest…and they take lots of pictures, which we will all treasure even more now. We want them to be happy, and their lives to be full, but as long as they live away from us, we will all miss them very much. Nevertheless, as they have said before, “Home is Wherever I’m With You” and so it is. Today is Josh’s 26th birthday. Happy birthday Josh!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My youngest grandson, Josh Petersen is a hardworking and very busy guy. Josh works two jobs. He services fire extinguishers at All Out Fire, and at Sanford’s Grub and Pub, where he is a jack of all trades. I guess that five years in the restaurant industry teaches you every job. Josh doesn’t have much time off. His jobs keep him very busy, and we, his family don’t get to see much of him. It’s part of what he does to be able to live as an adult. Sometimes you have to, work more than one job to make ends meet…especially in this economy.
Josh has a couple of pets, whom he loves very much. His little Dachshund dog, named Molly is his best pal. I’ll never forget when he first got Molly, and he loved her so much that he carried her everywhere. I don’t think that dog walk three feet in those days, and she still doesn’t walk much when Josh is around. I think Molly has completely convinced Josh that it is his responsibility to carry her everywhere. He also has Lilly, the cat, who has a couple of kittens.
Josh has such a soft heart, me I think Molly takes advantage of that fact, but I guess it doesn’t hurt anything. It is Josh’s soft heart, in my opinion, that makes him excel in the EMT/Firefighter field. Josh is studying to do both, and is very good at both. He has the heart of a helper. He doesn’t like to see anyone with a need left unmet. It doesn’t matter if the need is medical or some other need, Josh tries to help. It isn’t that he always has the excess to meet a need, but he will sacrifice his own needs for the needs of others in a heartbeat.
Today, as Josh turns 21, I find myself almost in shock that this, my youngest grandchild could already be 21 years old. He is no longer a child, he is a man. He works more than full time, and lives on his own, with two roommates, and a menagerie of assorted pets. Josh is responsible. He gets to work on time, takes care of his animals and his home and he studies and gets good grades. He makes me proud. A grandmother couldn’t ask for anything more. Today is Josh’s 21st birthday. Happy birthday Josh!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Every year during Fire Safety Week, the local fire department holds an event to create better awareness to the hazards of fire, and how to stay safe. A lot of the day is geared toward the kids, because they are new to fire safety. Fire trucks are brought in and the kids…and adults…can get a ride in the big ladder bucket, which is very cool. You also have the opportunity to take a closer look at the trucks, and learn about all they can do. Of course, every kid wants to see the lights and hear the sirens. There are rooms set up to show you how to escape in the event of a fire in the home, and talking about fire extinguishers and such. It is all designed to teach people how to survive a fire.
When my grandchildren were little, and probably also because Bob worked on the fire trucks, we always took them to those things. It made for a fun day, and it’s never too early to teach kids about fire safety. Of course, their parents went to, when they could, and we made an event of it. The kids had a great time checking out all the event had to offer, and of course, there was always food and drinks…a definite plus as far as they were concerned, especially if the food was something good, like cookies.
When they were little, they really didn’t care much about the whole fire safety thing, but the rooms to teach escape were kind of cool!! They showed the places where fires could start and had the necessary equipment for escaping in them. There were instructions for the kids that could read, and people to help , or the parents could help the little ones. The whole place looked to the kids like a big playhouse. So they took their time playing in 
there, and that is when a discovery was made…
I know that you thought you knew exactly how the old Christmas story goes, but all these years I think you may have been wrong. We have all heard it…the story about Santa Clause coming down the chimney on Christmas Eve, bringing toys to all the good little girls and boys…but you have it all wrong. I know that for a fact, because there in that little fire safety room, we discovered that it wasn’t Santa Clause than comes down the chimney at all, but rather it is Christopher Santa Clause that comes down the chimney with all the toys. No seriously…it is…just look!! See…you just thought you knew…
