Where I am tonight...

Yesterday was a tough one. Work in the morning, then off to Harper College for the memorial service Harper College had for Laurie. Kristin and I attended together. It was amazing to hear and see her fellow students and teachers seeing Laurie in the same light we had seen over the many days preceeding. They loved her, too and missed her as much.

So sweet...lots of the students and one of the teachers wore flip flops in Laurie's honor. Emily Jones, a fellow Motorola Scholarship winner wore a Cubs shirt and her flip flops and samg Tears in Heaven. Laurie's guitar teacher said a few words about Laurie's support of him and then played a beautiful guitar peice. Three of La's closest teachers spoke about her; her love for knowledge, going the extra mile, staying after class to share a thought or word of encouragement, that brilliant smile. "The Perfect Student". Reminding us about various speeches, the "My Hero" speech, about me; the speech where she brought in MacDonald's hamburgers for the entire class but asked them to wait to eat until she finished her speech about the fast food industry. Almost all the hamburgers landed in the garbage and Jeff, the professor says he has not eaten fast food since! Tha's persuasive. A candle lighting, flowers, moment of silence, student sharing, donations to "Make A Wish", and the whys, what was going on in her head that no one heard, the emploring to visit Harper's pysch help if needed. For me, it was just sweet and sad...she loved it there.

Then returning home, I remember the funeral home had called and the ashes were ready to be picked up. Urghhh. Driving there I remembered when Gram had died and Laurie and Pete had gone to pick up Gram's remains and Laurie had asked" Should we buckle her up?"

After a discussion with Alan, our funeral director guy, telling me we defied the funeral stats norm. Usually a large wake has about half the number at the funeral, due to work/other obligations. Laurie's had roughtly a thousand people at both. So I am given Laurie's ashes in a beautiful wooden box about 11"x8"x5". Back in the car, I buckled her (the box) in, tied a random pink ribbon in the car around the box and drove off. Where to? No place I had to be yet so we just drove past Cutting Hall where she had performed in "Sound of Music", over to her Starbucks, then the overlook and around all the driveways at Willow, past the church on Algonquin where she had surprised the folks in the basement having a prayer meeting long ago, Embers restaurant, then all the way around Harper college talking out loud to her as we went. Over by Marlowe's restaurant, more fun times, past Frembd High School. Past Alemar's where she ate her last meal with her dad on Oct. 11th, 1998, past his house, heading back towards 921 Belmar, first driving by Long Grove Manor, the nursing home she loved, then Tom Anderlik's house, Steve Downs' house, Becky Fuller's house, Willow Grove School, Twin Groves School and at last up the driveway. I carried that box in thinking, "I carried her in here by myself 20 years ago and now here I am again cradling her in my arms...I love this amazing Laura Leanne Boncimino so much."