Dear Cousin Justin

Thank you so much for spending your hard-earned paid time off from sourcing Canada with raw fuels to come and visit us here in our little pocket of Eastern Tennessee sweetness. We hope you are recovered from early morning sounds of our children caterwauling in the kitchen as well as the oft-repeated chorus of whining for more mini-marshmallows.

I have a sneaking suspicion you discovered some crumbs from "super hard bread" in your pants pockets, or at least an errant steam engine trinket in your luggage. The kids are still quite dazzled with your abilities to guzzle so many liters of sweet tea and not have to pee every 3.5 seconds as they do all day.

By the way, I hope you still managed to see the majority of Rock City in spite of the fact that a makeshift port-o-potty was erected by my two children every five paces. Good grief. Ain't nobody got time for that.

Maybe in the coming weeks, a little part of you will long for veggie turkey loaf or a nutter fluffer sandwich or that pickled okra you left in our fridge.

In those times of longing, just think of us and say a prayer for us as we will for you and dream of the time when we can drive our hoopty Canyonero up to your hinterland of a province and experience all the delights that you and your love Angie adore in Calgary. We can't wait. We probably will all be able to hold our fluids better then, and maybe we won't watch as much "Busytown," but we'll still be your American FamiLee, raggedy crazed party of four.

Love you lots, Favorite Cousin!

- The FamiLee in Tennessee