Saturday, November 7, 2015

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Tonight's picture was taken in November of 2005. A classic moment. Mattie loved painting with his feet in our living room. As you can see, I would put newspapers down on the floor, we would put paint on paper plates and then Mattie would have a ball. Don't ask how we didn't get paint everywhere! But we didn't! He created only artistic masterpieces!


Quote of the day: I have stayed true to that first idea that people can have a day in their lives that is very important and if they can reconnect with that day, reconnect with the people they were then, they can suddenly revive their emotions. ~ Victoria Wood


When Mattie was diagnosed with cancer, I stopped all of my professional work. I gave up teaching, working at the University, and basically put all the work I did in the professional community on hold. One of the positions I held was chairing the DC licensure board for mental health counselors, and though they could have easily replaced me. They did not want to, and I assure you I was gone from the board for about two years. They did not pressure me in any way, but when I was ready to return, they welcomed me back to work. The licensure board is the ONLY professional thing from my FORMER world that I still do today. Everything else I dropped and NEVER returned to.

Today, I was invited to a local mental health conference to present to attendees about the licensure process in the District of Columbia. This is not just any conference. It was for an organization in which I once was the president and then served for MANY years as their executive director. I was very tentative about returning to this event today. Mainly because I tend not to move back into the world in which I once existed. However, since this organization has requested my presence previously, and I usually say no, I decided that I really needed to fulfill this request given my role as the chair of the licensure board.

When I entered the auditorium today, there were many faces from my past. People who haven't seen me for at least a decade. They were all happy to see me and we had a very lovely time reconnecting. When I presented on licensure issues, I did not want to make it dry. Which it could easily be. Instead, I wanted people in the audience to participate and feel a part of this session. So I quickly engaged them right after I was introduced. It was a lively session, was asked a ton of questions by participants, and people were lined up to talk to me after the session ended! All I can say is I haven't been in the classroom in ages, yet my ability to engage with others and make them feel comfortable enough to ask questions and learn hasn't been lost. It came right back to me like riding a bicycle. For that moment in time, I felt like the old Vicki! Of course that isn't the Vicki that exists today, but it was nice to know that somewhere deep down I haven't lost that part of who I was. 

Meanwhile when we got home we had a ton of candy to sort. We received 200 pounds of candy yesterday from the River School and today this pile was donated to us by Beth Parker (formerly of Fox 5, and who did many interviews with us) and her neighbors. 

But these photos show the process we undergo with the candy. First the candy is either delivered to us or we pick it up. When we receive it, it is usually in boxes or bags and mixed together. 

We need to hand inspect each piece of candy and then sort it by type into Ziploc bags. We sort the candy because it helps to preserve the candy for longer as well as prevents the candy from tasting the same. 

Here is our current pile of sorted candy. This may seem like a nice collection, but just wait..... it will be growing as the days continue. 

Peter and I had a great time with these Snicker's bars today! I never saw a candy bar that featured adjectives on them! My joke is I would have loved receiving such a candy bar while in the hospital. Instead of having to express my feelings, I would have just held up a candy bar.