Tonight's picture was taken in November of 2007. Mattie was five years old. That day we walked down to the National Mall so that we could see the Veteran's Day parade. Mattie was never a fan of crowds, but this parade had it all from horses to music. It was very patriotic and I am glad we had this memorable moment with Mattie. As this was our first and last parade with Mattie, because a year later, he was diagnosed with cancer.
Quote of the day: Such silence has an actual sound, the sound of disappearance. ~ Suzanne Finnamore
To this day my dad can recall his role as a surgical nurse and apparently he was involved in a surgical case in which a soldier needed his leg amputated. He can tell you about this and a lot more!
This morning started with our irrigation professional coming to turn off our sprinklers for the winter. I have gotten to know Steve quite well, as he has his own relationship issues. So when we are together we swap war stories. He wanted to help me shut off my hoses, but I said... NO I would do it! This is my new philosophy, I want as little help from anyone as possible. Of course if I can't do something, I know that I need help, but overall, if I am living it or managing with it, then I am doing it! No longer will I ever be beholden or rely on anyone.
After I got my dad settled, I then went to spend some time in the garden. I pulled out weeds and cut back our day lilies for the winter. I filled up an entire garbage bin of greens! Then I came inside and worked on our Foundation database for an hour. Every December I scrub this database in order to eventually prepare mailing labels for our annual fund mass mailing.
Mid-afternoon, I took my parents out for frozen yogurt. I have gotten to know the manager of the store. She is a lovely woman, and most of the times, she gives me a discount. She observes the care I provide to my parents and she has commented on it often. Traveling with my parents is truly a show, as I need blankets, a tote bag, my dad's seat cushion, and of course I have to navigate my parents around! It is not an easy task. Any case, while having yogurt, Clara came up to us very upset! She had three run ins with customers. One person even called her stupid. Another one wanted to take her out back and hit her (another woman). Truly everyone around me is on the edge. We calmed Clara down and made sure she was safe. All I can say is what a world. Before I left the store, I wrote an email to Clara's company, and shared my positive feedback working with her, as I know these other two customers are most likely going to send nasty grams!
When I returned home, I decided to wash my car. I no longer take it to the car wash. The car was quite dirty and since it was a lovely weather day, out came the hose, microfiber clothes and dish soap. I think the car looks much better. At 6pm, I came back into the house and then had to proceed to make dinner. The tasks are just never ending and when I say I am doing the work of ten people I am not kidding.
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