Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Tuesday, June 8, 2021 -- Mattie died 610 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2009. We were at Mattie's 7th birthday party! In fact, that year, he celebrated twice. Once at the hospital, on his actual birthday, and a second time at a friend's house. At my friend's house, Reptiles Alive came to do a meet and greet with the animals. As you can see, Mattie was having an encounter with a snake. I wanted nothing to do with this creature, which I think only inspired Mattie further to touch it!

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 33,388,341
• Number of people who died from the virus: 598,359

Last night, I was looking through a magazine I brought back from Martha's Vineyard. While flipping through the pages, I saw this photo! I immediately stopped in my tracks, because this was the hotel room I stayed in! Well the second room that is, the one I was able to get us upgraded into! It was a spectacular space with three bedrooms, two baths, a covered porch, and all on one level. 

The highlight of my day was meeting friends at Barca Wine Bar & Pier. This is a new restaurant in Alexandria, VA. I love trying new restaurants and I admit I love being by the water. So this seemed like a good spot to celebrate a birthday today. 

It was another busy day. I started at 6am. One of the things I am involved in, is I am part of the research team working on a proposal for a government grant. The team has weekly phone calls. The research proposal is focused on designing a study to help implement the psychosocial standards of care. It is a fascinating process to see such a large study be designed from the ground up and to be able to work with this distinguished team. Two of the researchers have been on this journey with us since 2012, when we held the first psychosocial symposium on Capitol Hill. 

Meanwhile, tomorrow we close on the house. We are doing a walk through of the house at 9am, sign paperwork at 10am, and then go back to the house with the previous owners for a personal tour of the property. This gives us a chance to ask questions and understand how things work. The previous owners seem like lovely individuals and in addition to having a tour with them, they have left several items in the house for us at no charge. Things like TVs, armoires, and even all of their patio furniture!