Monday, June 19, 2023

Monday, June 19, 2023

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2005. Mattie was three years old. That spring, Peter's mom, mailed this cute whale kiddie pool to Mattie. It was the perfect size to fit on our deck. Mattie enjoyed water play, and typically the pool would be filled with all sorts of toys and creative play schemes would unfold. It is amazing all the fun we had on this deck, and it wasn't a very large space. Therefore the size of something is not what matters, but that connections, love, and memories that are made is what counts. We made plenty of wonderful memories at our townhouse in Washington, DC, and whenever I am in the city and drive by, I look up and remember our years with Mattie.  

Quote of the day: As you know, life is an echo; we get what we give. ~ David DeNotaris

If tonight's quote is accurate, then all I can say is I must have done something wrong. The day to day existence of being a caregiver is hard to describe. Of course in my perspective this isn't my first rodeo with caring for someone I love. I would have hoped that I served my time and then some given the heartache of watching Mattie endure cancer treatment and die. But there is so much about life that we have no control over, and despite the exhaustion and at times mixed emotions I manage, I can still see the kindness of those around me. 

Given that Peter was flying to Portland, Oregon today, I took my parents out for lunch. Otherwise, we are home all day, and that isn't a good plan for any of us. When we arrived at our table, Dawn surprised my dad with a stuffed monkey and a card of appreciation for Father's Day. 

We met Dawn in 2021, shortly after my parents moved here. Since my parents love going out to eat, I started to take them to different Clyde's restaurants in our area. One of which was in Reston, VA. It was at that restaurant we met Dawn. We have been connected with her ever since and she is so good with my dad that I now drive an hour to Maryland and back to see her. The original restaurant we met Dawn at, closed its doors in June of 2022. Most people wouldn't drive two hours in a day to see someone, but I would! Dawn has a way of getting my dad engaged, talking, and eating. So to me it is worth the trip! 

Dawn wrote in the card.... To My Favorite Dad!

See the mountain lion? Notice what is on his head! Yes a straw hat. Well here's the story on this. Peter saw this straw hat one day and placed it on one of the statues in the restaurant. However, when he does this, managers always see this and remove the hat later in the day. Today someone placed the hat on the cat! I noticed it immediately and sent a photo to Peter! Peter thinks this could be a social media ploy to get people into the restaurant to find where the hat is placed each day! In any case, the majority of people working and eating in the restaurant today did not see the hat on the cat AT ALL! Somehow this all made me laugh!

My exciting news is as of today, I have proceeded all 324 donations we received from the Foundation's Walk 2023. Every donor, sponsor, and raffle contributor has been acknowledged! I feel very proud of this accomplishment given what my days are like! Now I will be turning my attention to creating a Walk video this week. That is no easy task either, but I feel these videos are important for documentation purposes!