Friday, June 24, 2022

Friday, June 24, 2022

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2007. That weekend we took Mattie for a trip to Pennsylvania. Along our journey we stopped at the Cherry Crest Adventure Farm. We hadn't planned to stop there, but this colorful thing in the fields caught our attention while driving. So we pulled over to check it out. No one else was around and we had the opportunity to experience a jumping pillow for the first time. It was like a trampoline, but without leaving the ground! Mattie had a great time! You have to love unplanned adventures. Sometimes they are the best kind. 

Quote of the day: You never know how strong you are… until being strong is the only choice you have. ~ Cayla Mills

I got up at 6am today in order to feed Indie and start Sunny on his pre-treatment medication before I gave him chemo. It was NOT a good eating day for Sunny. In fact, I couldn't get him to eat all day. If I wasn't caregiving, I could probably spend more time coaxing and nurturing him, but unfortunately I can't devote my sole attention to him anymore. 

I got myself ready, made breakfast, got my dad showered, dressed, and downstairs for breakfast. I had to drive him 30 minutes earlier today to his memory care center, because I had a conference call at 10am. Honestly how I pull it together to look somewhat coherent for any of these calls is amazing. But I actually found the call stimulating and it helped me refocus on our passion for psychosocial care. So though I scrambled to make the timing work this morning, it felt good to participate in something other than my daily routine. 

On an aside, one of the participants on the call today was telling this pharmaceutic company (who we were being introduced to) about Mattie Miracle. The participant said that he was at a conference in Pennsylvania this week and while there an advocate from Ohio told the group that if they are looking for a strong, well run organization, whose leadership are parents of a child with cancer (with no admin!), they have to check out Mattie Miracle! Beautiful to hear, no?

After the call, I tried to feed Sunny again, but he wasn't interested. So I focused on more chores and tasks and then at 12:30pm, I got Sunny in the car, and we headed to the vet. Sunny needed another urine culture to make sure his infection has cleared up. Considering I needed Sunny to have a full bladder, I gated him off this morning on our porch. That way it insured he would be able to take this urine test. Sunny did not mind, as I could see he was tired and not himself. 

Sunny is so used to going to the oncology office, that as soon as he gets into the waiting room, he claims the doggie bed. Interesting that today's blanket was Scooby Doo. Mattie would have approved of this choice. In fact, as soon as I saw this blanket, I thought of Mattie. Mattie would have loved Sunny and I wish they could have met each other. 

Everyone at the center LOVES Sunny. Some of the techs come out just to pet him! He is that kind of gentle giant. 

This afternoon, I took my parents to Maryland, to have lunch with Dawn. Dawn is a server we met in Reston. When the Reston, VA restaurant closed its doors after 25 years, Dawn moved to their sister restaurant in Rockville, MD. We go to this restaurant twice a week to see Dawn. She makes a big deal over my dad and she is great stimulation for all of us. 

Certainly going out to eat is hard time wise for me to balance. But going out serves many therapeutic purposes for both of my parents. It gets them physically moving, outside of the house, interacting with other people, and for my dad it slows down his eating pace. As a restaurant serves in courses, so he can't eat all at once. 

Today Dawn presented my dad with sorbet that had a candle in it. For no reason, other than just because. Dawn is a class act! Each visit, I bring a report card that I make and the card always asks stimulating questions. For example today's card asked, "What helps you predict or determine the quality of a customer interaction you will have?" We are getting an education about the restaurant industry and of course we are getting to know Dawn better, which is lovely. 

 

Peter is in Boston and this evening he sent me this photo of a chipmunk. When Mattie was alive, his first chipmunk encounter was at Peter's parents house. Mattie affectionately called the chipmunk, "Chippy." In fact Chippy was so popular that Mattie wrote a story about this fellow in his writer's workshop in kindergarten.