Saturday, June 28, 2025Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2009. This was right after Mattie's sternotomy, which removed 7 tumors from his lungs. Two of his HEM/ONC nurses were in the room with us, his day nurse (left, Sarah Marshall) and his night nurse (right, Ellen). Ironically, Ellen was the nurse who administered Mattie's first dosage of chemotherapy (August 2008) and Sarah Marshall was the nurse who was with us the night that Mattie died (September 8, 2009). Which I assure you was one of the worst horror scenes you could imagine. I think that the way Mattie died caused Sarah Marshall to switch from being a HEM/ONC nurse to a pediatric intensive care nurse. I snapped this photo because Mattie's nurses loved him and when you wonder WHO is actually providing the direct minute to minute care in a hospital, think NURSE!
Quote of the day: He who throws away a friend is as bad as he who throws away his life. ~ Sophocles
This morning, while my dad was with his physical therapist, I sat outside on the porch. I made it sitting still for about 15 minutes. It is wonderful to see all this greenery, to see the hummingbirds coming by, and to hear the fountain going. Steve (who helps me with all things outside of the house) fixed my fountain this spring and he put a pump in the fountain that makes a beautiful cascading sound! When you want to know what my therapy is..... it is being outside and in my garden. For the last two weeks, I have been working on painting the off white portion of our side porch. Eventually I need to get this professionally redone, as a lot of the wood has rotted, but for now, I did not want to see the mess, so I painted right over it. It won't solve the problem of course, but it sure looks a whole lot better. I eventually have to get to painting the brown steps, but I did not have it in me today, as it was hot, humid, and buggy! My Father's Day lilies finally popped. I nicked them Father's Day lilies, because they usually open up near Father's Day. When we moved to Washington, DC in 1994, we bought a bunch of lilies at Home Depot. This is one of the remaining lilies from all those years ago! When we moved, we brought the lilies with us. When I sit on the porch, paint anything, or gaze at these Father's Day lilies, I can't help but think of my husband. When you have spent decades with a person, your memories are their memories and their memories of your memories. Therefore, it is impossible to forget, to sever, or to erase all these everyday moments we shared.
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