Funeral time (4/24/2023)

My step mothers funeral was held on Saturday 4/22. Family and friends from around the country came to pay respects and share stories. It was really great to see everyone, spend time together and reconnect.

Funerals compel you to think about your life and how it touches others. People matter, everything else is just stuff we accumulate. Only a few items have sentimental value to others once you've passed on. All that stuff we spend so much of our lives accumulating ends up being a chore for our loved ones to clean out and distribute. And that's the best case. All too frequently a few desireable items strain family relations to the breaking point.

Knowing family would be in town I attempted to get my travel preparations done early. A task I failed to achive. Many todo items fell away nicely under focussed effort. Even this website (take #2) will reach minimum viable product status later this evening. However I was surprised early this week when I started my pre-trip bike prep.

Normally I stock consumable bike parts like: tires, brake pads, chain and sprockets. Having two DL650 bikes made it convenient to stock these spares. My 2020 DL1050xt isn't old enough to have worn out anything but tires. Since tires are the same for the 650 and 1050 models, I both have a pair in stock and feel that I can complete the Florida without a tire change. However my brake pads, sprockets and chain are approaching end of life. I like to use them up, but when I went to replace them I found none on my garage shelves. While ordering I discovered why. New bikes have yet to require a lot of consumables and the suppliers are not quick to update their online selection tools. After many web searches for primary part identification and secondary verification, I had a shopping cart full of parts. Shipping times and delays placed delivery on the Wednesday I planned to leave. Since having spares in stock is my norm, it only hurt my wallet to make duplicate purchases on Amazon. Those parts arrived on Sunday and I plan to do the work on Tuesday (post family visits and the day before leaving). Normaly I strive to completed repairs a week before leaving, so I have time to confirm success.

I am sentimental. I often tear up watching movies. I shed tears at the funeral during the Willie Nelson song "On the road again". My step mother played this song at the beginning of trips. She had plans to drive home from Florida next week, but she began a different journey. Preparation for my epic summer of traveling has been my recent focus. Hearing that song alligned thoughts in my head. Her path and mine are not what any of us recently expected them to be. Most of the world seems to label both death and job loss as unfortunate paths. The fact that I'm so possitively excited about my current situation helps me recognize that passing in your sleep a few years after your elderly husband died in the same manner really is not a bad way to go. Perspective is everything.