Last Day of Leo

I'm alone in the house! Well, except for the cats, and they're ignoring me. Although I have already cleaned up a cat-hairball-expulsion from my bedroom carpet, courtesy of Einstein. This feels odd after having a houseguest for three of the last four weeks. Being alone, that is, not cleaning up after the cat. The younger son is off at his first official full day of his senior year in high school. I have but one lazy summer schedule week at work remaining. Fortunately, my first two weeks back will be 32 hours each. It will be painful but easier than slamming in at 40 hours per right away. Having finally settled on October 25th as the memorial gathering in honor of my dear brother who died in May, plans for the day are in the works. Knowing that it will be one of those mixed emotion days, I am so happy both of my sisters will be here, we're going to need each other to get through it. I want the day to be a celebration of his life, and I am looking forward to being with people who loved him, whose lives he touched. It still seems so very wrong that he is gone. I need to call the Sioux Falls Argus Leader to find out if I can submit his obit or if they truly only accept them from licsensed funeral directors. I had to pare it down to three column inches, so just the essential information will run there. I love you, bro, but not to the tune of $35 a column inch! I'll probably take the longer version to the local paper today, it will run one day next week. I have a feeling a whole new wave of emotional processing will hit when I see the words in print. I don't know how to prepare for that. I don't know that anyone does. But first, a bike ride.