Back to normal?

I'm not sure any of us will be "back to normal" this week, but we'll try.

Friends - Well, the last few days have been as good as one could expect. I'm glad, as I know Harold is, to know how good of a group of friends we have. Almost all of us came in for the funeral, to support Harold and his family, and say goodbye to Derick. I couldn't believe the amount of people at the wake (easily over 100 each of the 2 nights). And a very full church for the funeral. The most emotional times for me, and most everyone, were the opportunities for the family and Derick's friends to speak about him, from their hearts, both at the wake and funeral services. As soon as the opportunity was announced at the wake, 5-6 of Derick's close friends made a literal b-line to the lecturn. I couldn't believe how fast they walked up to speak to a room full of people/strangers. That's how much they wanted others to know about how great Derick was in life. I also heard that not only were Derick's co-workers in attendance, but also many of his PT patients. That's pretty cool. And finally, Harold was impressive in such a terrible time. He gave a great thank you to everyone at the wake and you could tell he was almost literally holding up the funeral services on his own. He knows I'll be happy to give him anything he needs at any time. He said he'd pass on a road-trip to Memphis though.

Family - Since I was in Glenview, I had the chance to get lots of family time. [Was this part of someone's bigger plan?] Thursday night I stayed with the Boyles, so that was fun. Friday morning was an off day for Bridget, so we all hung out before the funeral mass. I got to watch both girls eat birthday cake for breakfast. It was pretty funny. I also got to go out to dinner with them on Friday night to Bravo (very good). They had a fun time, and so did I. Friday night, I stayed at my P's house, so it was a good chance to catch up with them. I left Saturday morning, after M&D had gone too. Just the girls were hanging out in front of the TV.

Work - After a busy and stressful 3.5 days last week it was nice that I was given plenty of time to attend the services down in Glenview. I really didn't have any trouble and everyone understood. It was nice not having to deal with extra issues at work on top of the news from Glenview. I hope the coming week isn't too crazy b/c of it. I'm sure I can handle it.

A/V - I was told I should enter one by Tom, after a restaurant incident, but it wasn't that big of a deal. I'm trying to think of one now and will post it if I do. Shouldn't be too hard... Oh, a little follow up, though not entirely new. The windsheild wiper blade still skipped/chattered. I finally just bought another, more expensive, pair. I SoftScrubbed the whole thing one more time and just had the whole car washed at a great place in Evanston. I hope, touch wood, that the next rain event proves to have cured my noisy wiper. Really, you don't know.

Bike - Well, since I last wrote, I have been told by a former coworker (who now co-owns a bike company) that he'll send me a new bike frame. This is great news, and one of the only ways I would be undertaking a new bike project. With that, I've asked some SRAMmies for parts, we'll see if any of this shows this coming week. The weather here is still nice-ish enough to ride around before the real winter begins. I'd like to get another bike done and ride it a bit. And I'm still running, but only twice a week or so. I need to get my teeth fixed (cavities? root canals?) and then feel good enough to run again.