Funeral

The wake is Tuesday, from 3 - 9p. The funeral is Wednesday, at 10a.

I'm flying to Chicago today, after work. I can take the time off, but won't be paid for it. But I need to go. Can I afford it? Not really. But sometimes, you just have to go. I have to go.

Mom and Dad are going to drive over tomorrow, so they'll be with me. I told Marty they'd be there, and he was very appreciative.

This weekend was a weird mix of up and down.

Friday morning, I found out Judy was in the hospital. Work was fine, but there was an undercurrent of worry and fear for Judy. Talked to Marty after work, and it was scary, but seemed okay. He was scared, but seemed to feel she was okay/would be okay. Went to dinner with Kassie, and talked to Charly, and it was a lot of fun. I had a blast, and Charly and I said we'd get together on Tuesday. Damion called to see if I wanted to meet them at a bar. Went out with them, was having a good time, and Marty called to say Judy was bad enough for life support, and they weren't putting her on it, because she didn't want it. Instant crash.

We went home, and I lay in bed waiting for Marty to call, because at that point, it was inevitable.

Marty called at 1:00am to tell me Judy was gone. I called my folks, and cried on the phone for 20 minutes with them. Slept really poorly that night.

Saturday, I called the people I knew probably hadn't heard. Made flight arrangements. Went to Matt's for gaming, because I desperately needed to not be in the house, thinking about it. Had a great time, goofing off, rolling dice, being someone else. Slept badly when I got home, woke up at 8:30a. Yeah, 8:30a. I hate waking up that early!

Met my grandparents at the bakery. Then followed my grandparents home, to set up Grandma's email, and to have lunch with them. Then I hit Wal-Mart to get a new headlight, since I was driving with only one. Went to Fiesta Jalisco.

See, Charly had my phone number, but I didn't have his. So I couldn't just call him and tell him I wouldn't be here Tuesday, when we'd planned to get together. So I went in, ordered Flan and a Coke. And spent 3 hours there. I talked to Charly, a lot. Talked to Rachel, who's the hostess. Talked to Roger's father, who's visiting from Mexico. He speaks about as much English as I speak Spanish, but we had a good time. He came over to talk to me, because I looked sad. It was very sweet. Ricardo came by several times to talk. Roger came by. At one point, Charly was sitting across from me, and Roger came over and said, "I want to sit here too!" So Charly slid over and Roger sat down, grinning the whole time. Adam, one of the other waiters, came over and said, "I want to sit down too!" So I slid over, and for a few minutes, all four of us sat in the booth, laughing, and having a great time. When Charly had to go back to work, I left, having spent 3 hours there, over 2 Cokes and a small flan. Charly gave me his number, and told me to call him when I get back into Denver. I left in a great mood.

Then I got home, and knew I needed to pack. And I was back down again.

Today is Monday. I work today, and fly out tonight. Tonight I'll be in Chicago. I bought pocket packs of Kleenex to take with me. I know they'll be needed.

Thanks to everyone who's been so supportive. I really, really appreciate it. You guys rock.