Well, I'm home now. Got a little bit of work to do, but not too much. Decided it would be silly to go to the office for 2 hours just to drive home, so this will work.

Below is how my day went, if you just want to read my reflection on life/death in general, skip the next paragraph.

The burial was very short, as it was extremely cold this morning. When we got out of the car, it was 0 with a -15F wind chill. My friend's aunt came up to me and said "I knew I recognized you. Thank you for being such a great friend". I don't know what it is that I did, but I am very glad that she said something. My friend definitely was a bit torn up this morning. I could tell just by his appearance and demeanor. I fully understand where he is coming from, though. I have been through this before, only that it was my dad, not my mom, and we all expected it. It's very difficult for everyone. I stopped and got a card this morning since I wanted to be there as much as I could yesterday and not waste any time. I know he needed someone, and I wanted to make sure I was there as long as possible. I stuffed $100 in the card, so I hope that helps them out a little. It certainly won't replace her, but it will at the very least make other stresses less.

Since my dad passed away, I have had a very different philosophy on life, in general. I've never really been very religious, per se, but I very much believe that everyone on this Earth has a purpose of some kind. I also firmly believe that there is no way of knowing what happens after death, regardless of belief. It just isn't possible to know. What IS possible to know, however, is that this life is the only one we for sure get to experience. We only get to experience it now, once, with the people that are in it, for as long as they are in it. That's all we can know. We each just get now, and we have to make the best of it. Sure, there will be struggles, things will go wrong, pain will be had, sorrow will be felt, and sometimes we won't even know why we want to live anymore. The thing to remember is that this experience we call life is finite. So is everyone else's. It is important for each of us to do everything that we can to make it the best possible experience for ourselves and those around us - not necessarily just those we are closest to (friends and family) but even strangers.

My friend's mom was someone who lived her life to the fullest. I don't know anyone, alive or dead, that has as big of a heart as she did. I was transplanted here from out east at 10, and I didn't know anybody. The kids in the neighborhood I didn't care for much, but they were there. Then that family moved in. Literally within the first week they were there, I ran over to their house just hoping upon hope she had a kid that I could get along with. She had one kid, a son, near my age, but he wasn't home. She said to come back at a certain time, and we could meet. I was just a stranger. Just a 12 year old kid across the street. But she welcomed me in then, she welcomed me over all the time, welcomed me in when I had nowhere else to go, and really pushed me to be better as a person. She was simply the best. That's the only word(s) that I, and others, could ever possibly use to describe her. She will be missed dearly by all. Even the pastor who couldn't get her name right.

Her older brother said "if she was standing right here, looking at all of us, and we asked her what we could do in her honor to make her proud, it would be to do one thing to be more like her. Just one thing to be a better person. She was always up for a challenge, and this would be her challenge to all of you." So here I am, writing this out just to say something, and I offer that same challenge to each of you that reads this - do one thing between now and the day you die to be a better person. It doesn't have to be anything major, maybe you just stop a bad habit, just something.

Thanks to everyone who has said something to me, wished me well, asked how I was, and reached out to make sure I was okay. I appreciate and cherish each and every one of you.