Saturday, August 20, 2022

Saturday, August 20, 2022

Today's photo was taken in August of 2009. By this point, all of us knew Mattie's situation was terminal. We received visits from my parents, Peter's parents, Peter's brother, sister-in-law, our niece and nephews, and my lifetime friend Karen. This particular day we set up Mattie's pool on our deck and Mattie put his remote controlled boats in the pool. We tried to do whatever it took to keep Mattie distracted and engaged. But it truly was difficult as Mattie was in a great deal of pain and was having trouble breathing. 

Quote of the day: Kindness is an electrical spark of life that runs through all kingdoms and has a reciprocal action when shown to others. ~ Joe Hayes

When I took my parents out to dinner last night, we were surprised by a visit from Anthony. Anthony is the assistant general manager of the Clyde's restaurant group. We got to know Anthony from the group's Reston, VA location. Unfortunately that restaurant closed its door in May of 2022, because the owner of the property did not want to continue its lease with Clyde's. But it was at this special restaurant that we met Anthony and Dawn (my dad's favorite server). 

My family is so fond of Dawn that we drive sometimes an hour each way to Maryland to dine with her. Dawn is outstanding and is great stimulation for my dad! She has a good sense of humor and puts up with my "report cards" at every visit. I have generated so far around 20 report cards and I even bring stickers for the cards. The report cards ask interesting questions, and I design them so that my dad can listen and become engaged in conversation. 

Anthony now works at the restaurant group's Georgetown location. Though I am familiar with that location, I know it is not a good venue for my parents. The restaurant is congested and tight, and not forgiving for someone using a walker. So literally we haven't seen Anthony since May. He happened to be at the Maryland location last night, when we were there! It was meant to be, and it felt like a reunion. My mom snapped this photo

My dad loves Anthony and had a big smile on his face throughout the visit. In addition, when I prompted my dad this morning, he was able to remember seeing Anthony last night! So you know Antony holds some weight in my dad's head. When the Reston, VA restaurant was open, Anthony would greet and chat with us on every visit. Over time because we were such repeat customers, Anthony would comp all sorts of things for us and on the last night that the restaurant was open, he paid for our entire dinner. He is really in a class of his own. 

My dad loves going out to eat. In fact the first thing he asks me every morning is.... are we going out to eat today? I don't take it personally, as he likes my cooking. But I think he likes the stimulation of going out and certainly having people like Dawn and Cheryl taking good care of us makes a huge difference. 

Yesterday evening, after I got home, I sat in the front yard with Peter and Sunny. Literally while we were out there a mama deer and her baby walked right in front of our house! A very different sighting from our days in the city. 

This fellow is hanging out on the front of our house. He looks just like a green leaf in profile! Katydids are typically nocturnal insects that are related to crickets and are noted for their mating calls. Katydids are also known for their large hind legs and extremely long threadlike antennae. The katydid produces the repetitive song (by rubbing its wings together) for which katydids are named. The song is phoneticized as “katy-did, katy-didn’t.”

Are you familiar with this sound? I know I am, but frankly I never knew what I was hearing were katydids! I learned something today!!! Check out this video to hear the sound of a katydid!