Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2006. This was Mattie's fourth year attending fall festivals. We started in 2003, when Mattie was a year and a half old. So in essence he grew up celebrating fall by being active, exploring outside, and having family time together. In 2003, when Mattie first saw these big hillside slides, he panicked. The notion of going down them frightened him. But as you can see, he eventually tried the slides by sitting on Peter's lap. Mattie absolutely loved the whole experience. He was the exact opposite of me, as he loved adventure and the feeling of moving fast. Thankfully so does Peter! They were the perfect duo and as they were having these moments together, I was busy snapping photos.
Quote of the day: It’s so curious; One can resist tears and ‘behave’ very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slips from a drawer… and everything collapses. ~ Colette
This morning, I got up at 6am, so I had enough time to get myself together, make breakfast, and get my dad showered, dressed and downstairs. We had to leave the house at 9am, in order to get my mom to her 10am nail appointment. I am growing more and more concerned about my mom's walking and I can see that she is astute enough to know that she really needs to hold onto me when walking anywhere outside the house. The place I go to for nails is located in Georgetown, about a 30-40 minute commute from home. Keep in mind that when I lived in the city, this salon was about ten minutes from our townhouse. I certainly could find hair and nail services closer to me now, but I don't want to, as I have known these individuals since I was in my 20s! Yes I go back a long way with them!
While at the salon today, I heard a story about a young man who wants to propose to his girlfriend of 7 years. This fellow has saved $8,000 to buy an engagement ring. He really wants to make his girlfriend happy, so he invited her best friend along to pick out a ring. Here's the kicker. The friend then turned around and took the girlfriend to the jewelry store to see the ring her soon to be fiancé wanted to purchase for her. When the girlfriend saw the ring, she told her friend that this was not the ring she wanted. She wanted the stone to be bigger, and that meant that she wanted a ring that cost $14,000. When the fellow in question heard this, he chatted with his soon to be fiancée. He explained that he did not have the money set aside to afford the $14,000 ring and wanted to move ahead with the ring he picked out. Her response to him was she would wait until he could afford the ring she wanted.
Honestly this story has been swirling around in my mind all day. I try to remember back to being in my 20s when Peter proposed to me. Yes it is lovely to get a diamond, but I don't think the size of the engagement ring should be what's important here. I also wonder about the state of their relationship if the basis of moving forward with an engagement lies on how much he is spending on the ring. Marriage is not all fun and giggles. It requires patience, understanding, love, respect, and working together. I say working together because life brings many ups and downs, and this requires teamwork. I see no collaboration in this couple under non-stressful times, so I really wonder what will happen to their relationship during a challenge, crisis, or you pick the term!
After the salon, I took my mom to Starbucks for tea and some snacks. Right next to our Starbucks is a Hallmark store. A place both my mom and I like walking through. But what it abundantly clear is that my mom can no longer maneuver through a store on her own. I left her in one aisle while I ran to another, and she kept calling me from across the store. Meaning, I had to stay next to her. That said it is very difficult walking side by side in some stores. Most stores are not designed to handle people with disabilities and their needs. The aisles are so narrow. This doesn't surprise me, as I learned this first hand with Mattie, but I am once again reminded of these challenges, not to mention that I have two parents both in great need of support.
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