News: Sad and Happy

I would first like to start this post by saying that I just found out that my friend Scott's father passed away. To hear him cry broke my heart and we cried on the phone together for a few minutes. I don't know what it's like to lose a parent but it must be...something like finding out your spouse has died. It's different though. Grief is universal, but what we grieve for is highly individual.

I never met Henry, but given the kind of person his son turned out to be, I would venture to say that he was a good man. I have heard so much about him, most of it very, very positive and wish I could thank him in person for creating such a wonderful friend in his son. I have been privy to many intimate details about this man that I do feel like I knew him.

So, Henry, thanks for being a good husband, father, and person. The world was a better place because you were in it. You now exist in a way that we can only wonder about and I have total faith that whatever it is, be it heaven or the belly of a new mother, that it's exactly as beautiful as you deserve.

*****

No crass prose here today. I'll just give you quick, bulleted updates on my life.

• Put the house on the market. Listing price below what I paid. Felt like a punch in the stomach.
• Who cares? It's only money. Far worse things to lose. There's more where more it came from. We'll be F.I.N.E
• Decided to rent instead of buy. This provides optimum mobility and freedom, something I need. Very, very comfortable with this decision.
• Won't be paying property taxes for a while!
• Looking in Rutherford, East Rutherford, and Lyndhurst. Had a good conversation with a landlord in Lyndhurst today regarding a 4 bedroom apartment that is very affordable and sounds nice.
• Coming up north from July 24th to July 30th. Staying with a friend in Brooklyn. Going to have loads of fun, put down a deposit on my next living space, attend to some human resource stuff at work, and get the ball rolling with enrolling Sadie in a new school district. Won't be able to do any socializing on the western side of the state, but that's what the rest of my life is for.
• Considering many possibilities. Want to volunteer for the effort to clean up the Meadowlands. Even if it means picking up garbage piece-by-piece. Something I've wanted to do for a while and will now make a priority.
• Talked to some dude at Fidelity and have the ball rolling for moving some money around to better places.
• Been cooking more and eating better. Drinking less.
• Reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Great book, even if it IS on Oprah's book list. Even if you find it to be mumbo-jumbo, it's written in a very relaxing style and could possibly help you fall asleep feeling kind of glad to be alive.
• Love you all!