First things first

One of the benefits of having to get on a plane to deal with the death of a parent, is the downtime you're afforded to get shit done.

In the time period between getting the phone call that my Dad had died, to the time that my plane landed in Calgary, this is what I had completed:

- Called my sister to tell her that our Dad was dead
- Called my Uncle to tell him his brother was dead
- Booked a flight.
- Booked a rental car.
- Called my Mom and spoke to her twice.
- Called my Dad's three best friends to tell them dad was dead
- Called my Dad's employer to find out the name of his supervisor
- Spoke to my Dad's supervisor to tell him his employee was dead.
-- Spoke to the RCMP agent at my parent's house
- Called my boss and told him I was out for at least a week
- Called my best friend in Alberta and told him I'd need him.
- Called and left a detailed message for my mother's Doctor
- Spoke to my parent's neighbours a few times
- Spoke to band members from my two bands to let them know I couldn't gig with them for a few months
- Wrote a draft of my father's obituary (which I ended up using with almost no changes)
- Wrote the eulogy for my father's funeral service (which ended up being my welcome and thank you to his friends)
- Left a message for the Alberta coroner's office

This was all before I'd even seen my mother.

Adrenalin is the thing that will show you what you can do when you need to do it.