Update on Mark Loesch

It's hard to lose a friend. I can't stop thinking about Mark. There are still no leads as to what monsters performed this horrific crime. I pray that the police get the break they need that leads to an arrest and conviction.

Moving forward we are going to take Mark's oldest 3 kids to the Renaissance Festival this weekend. I was exchanging emails with Mark about this in the days before he was taken from us. I was looking forward to it then, and now I'm looking forward to it even more.

I want to write more, normally writing helps. I'm just really stuck trying to find the words that will express what I really feel. Gobsmacked,. gutted and nackard are some words that come to mind, but those are mostly used in the UK

I'll try to update later.

Will

The pain and the denial

Wow, it's been over 2 years since I have posted here.

If you know me, then you know what happened to Mark Loesch on September 13th. You can find the story at the above link on WCCO TV or here http://www.startribune.com/467/story/1425232.html

Mark was a best friend. His greatest achievement was being a dad. Of course everyone says nice things about people when they are gone, but everyone said nice things about Mark while he was here.

The pain has been nearly unbearable. The denial great. I have been to visit Samantha and their kids, I've read the papers, I have seen the story on the local and even national news. My brain knows he is gone, and how he went. But my heart will not accept the news. I know the 5 stages of loss...

Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance

So far I have a lot of denial and anger. I can't imagine how long it is going to take to get to acceptance.

Simply put, Mark was the best. A great dad, always a part of every one of his kids lives. Taking the time to make each one feel loved and special. Helping them with homework, and never afraid to look silly in order to put a smile on their face. Or anyone's face for that matter. EVERYONE who knew him loved him. He was a father long before I was. When I would go to him for advice about parenting he always had something for me, and was very careful not to tell me what to do, but offer suggestions and alternatives. Everything from an infant crying in the night, to a toddler that wants a toy in the store that he or she is not going to get on this visit. It was like being a dad was just second nature to him. Never too harsh, never too carefree, a perfect balance.

When we were kids my parents trusted him and his judgment more than mine. Of course that worked out well as I just had to say, "Mark will be there" and then I could go. Go to the mall, the park, bike riding, or what have you.

Mark even taught me the power of meditation through praying the rosary. I was baptized in the Catholic Church in 2001 and it was strange, new and uncomfortable to pray the rosary, until Mark shared with me that the meditative powers of rosary are what, in part, helped him through hard times.

It is ironic that some of the best memories I have of Mark were of going bike riding as kids, and now the worst memory I have will be of him taking his last bike ride.

God bless you Mark, and God bless your wonderful family.

London

Our thoughts and prayers are with all of London and the people of the UK. We were in London durring September 11, 2001. And now we are back in Minnesota durring this multiple bombing in London.

I don't really know what to say, after 9-11 we spent the next 2 years living in the UK and waiting for something like this to happen. Watching the news that seems to be the attitude of most Brits.

I'll work on posting something to bring people up to date next.

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Isn't it funny how we say 'fourth of July' but for every other date the month comes first?

Well here it is, I'm back to writing getting on the blogging bandwagon. Better late than never right?

I will post more soon, but right now everything is good. We have been back from the UK for 2 years. We really miss our friends there. Life is starting to settle a bit now. Brenda is working full time, I'm still doing Real Estate, Emma is going into the 1st grade this fall and Isaac is starting kindergarden (half days). I'm looking forward to having the extra time they are in school to focus on my business. I try to take the kids to morning Mass every day at 7:30. With them out of school, and me not having to be up for work at any special time it helps to get us going.

Well I will put some more time into this soon for a full update.