I had a blast Friday with all my friends cheering on my school’s football teams!

He said

As Danielle shared last week, we heard of the passing of a dear family friend of Danielle’s last weekend and the funeral was Monday and we were able to go. Dick was a wonderful human that from the moment I entered Danielle’s life treated me as an extension of her, and was always interested in who I was or what I was up to. As we were driving down and Danielle & I were reminiscing about Dick, I shared that there were two things that always struck me about him: 1) his door was always unlocked and he would welcome anyone in his home—day or night, 2) he lived in a funeral home! As for the latter, I did have an uncle who was a funeral director but he lived in his own home.

At any rate the funeral validated that our experience with Dick was any thing but unique and he had made the most amazing impact in every single person he had in his life. Dick lived his life showcasing the mantra “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” (Thoreau) He didn’t hold back. He spent more time listening and finding out who the person was in front of him, and brought laughter and theatrics into everything he did. And he had passion for art, music & culture and that was why he resonated with me so deeply. And it was clear that impression he left hit more than just me. Sure, we’re sad he is gone, but I am not sad I got a chance to know him the way I did and learn how he was so important to Danielle. Because he became important to me.

With the heavy start to the week, the rest of the week settled into low key and the usual routines. I had a late night at the store on Thursday night to set up for the Apple Watch Ultra and the new AirPods Pro. Thankfully it was only a late night and not an overnight, so I was home and in bed, and asleep by 2:00 am in order to be up for my beloved Friday morning hockey at 6:00 am. I’ve been playing hockey again for the last few weeks and it’s so nice to be on the side of COVID that doesn’t require all the checks & balances (I understand why it was necessary) but, most importantly being able to shower after is the biggest thing I am happy is back. It’s also been great to have a day of the week where I am tripling my Activity and Exercise rings on my Watch.

And on the topic of Apple Watch… Within five minutes of the announcement of the Apple Watch Ultra, I had multiple friends messaging something along the lines of, “That was made for you – are you getting it??” To make matters worse it was announced on my birthday which made it even more ‘me’. Cycling and more specifically distance cycling was prominently featured in the product announcement. And it appealed to me in so many ways but the biggest were the increased safety features, precision GPS tracking and the incredible battery life. As someone who has ridden over 100km in a ride more than a few times, and as someone who plans to do more, this was the Watch I wanted. Needed is something you can ask Danielle, but in the end because I am able to sell my old Series 6 Watch for a reasonable amount, I made the leap.

So that was really my week… I mean there was lots of bike riding in it and it’s clear that Fall has arrived as the rides are cooler and less sweaty. We didn’t get ant time at the trailer, and the somewhat sad fact is we’re starting to plan out buttoning up the trailer and getting it ready for winter storage. We’ll have one last extended stay there over Thanksgiving and then it will be time to map out the end of the season. We’re had a good year there – not necessarily as much camping as last year – but we have had fun. And the best part is, I got in a lot of G2G biking!

She said

This week has been a heavy week. First as John said we had to go to the funeral of one the most cherished men in my childhood. Dick was more than a family friend he was like an uncle to me. He was the grounding presence in some of the hardest times in my life. He was always there for my sister and I—no questions asked. During the drive down to the funeral and conversations with Samantha (Dick’s daughter) we talked about how there was countless times when my sister and I needed a place we would just show up and walk right in the door. Often times Dick would find my sister and I in his kitchen as he got off work and without a blink he would put supper in front of us and we just stayed the night.

Dick was the most incredible person, always cared deeply about everyone around him. He was a larger than life character and I will forever be grateful that he was part of my life. We will miss you forever!

The rest of the week with some lingering connections that came from the funeral it was a very emotional and draining week. Work was busy which was exactly what I needed to keep my mind off everything that I was dealing with.

As the week wrapped up we shifted gears, originally the plan was that Emelia and I were going to head to the trailer for a quick overnight visit. But after loosing two years of having a normal teenager social life we moved plans around as Emelia’s social calendar filled up quickly over the weekend. We are so happy to see her diving head first into being around her friends, putting herself out there to go out of her tight group of grade school friends and have a blast. Friday she went to cheer on the school football teams, first the junior then the senior team. Saturday went to the mall with one of her lifelong friends Addison and today she was hanging with the twins after her cheer training. We are so happy to see her going back to a normal teenager experience.

This coming week should be another busy one, but we did tell Emelia no matter what we are heading to the trailer for the weekend for some family time. We cannot wait!