Thursday, December 4, 2025

Thursday, December 4, 2025

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2002. Mattie was 8 months old and it was his first Christmas. I was excited to try to capture "the perfect" photo of Mattie for the front of our holiday card. It began to snow, and literally we set up a photo shoot on our front deck. Mattie had no idea what was going on and I can't tell you how many photos we took that afternoon! This was one of them! It wasn't what was featured on the card, but nonetheless it was PRECIOUS! 

Quote of the day: They say that time heals all wounds but all it’s done so far is give me more time to think about how much I miss you. ~ Elizabeth Wilder

It has been a very long day for me. It is 11pm, and I just sat down to write the blog. Can you see the visitor to my door!? This time of year, the deer just LOVE eating my roses!

After Sunny died in January of 2024, I bought two "Sunny" hibiscus plants in his memory. I nurture these plants and take them in for the winter. They are hardy plants because to come inside, I literally transplant them from my big clay pots to these plastic pots. As you can see, they are happy and blooming! Seeing these flowers somehow reminds me of my beautiful Sunny and the incredible life he brought to my daily existence. 

What is this? Try last year's poinsettia! Last year (just like this year), I bought my poinsettias at Lowe's. Historically I have never been able to grow a poinsettia past Christmas. Some people can, I know my Grandmother could, but mine typically die. Well that is until I met this one! They say you need to put the plant in a dark room in the fall for the plant to re-produce red leaves. I did not do this, and look at it.... it is turning red. 

It was a whirlwind of a day with conference calls and other chores. I am desperately trying to decorate for Christmas, but there is ONLY one of me and I can do so much. Today, I decided to pull out the big ladder and go into our garage overhead storage area. This is where so many of our Christmas decorations have been stored for years. Since I did not put these things up there, I had no idea what was actually there. Today I decided to address that and see what was useable. My mom has wanted a Christmas tree, so I was motivated to search our storage areas! I do not plan on getting a real tree. I just don't have the energy or strength for that and I am NOT buying an artificial tree. Mainly because I have two small artificial trees already and I suspected we had a bigger one in the garage storage area. In 2022, we decorated the top of our outdoor portico with an artificial tree. I have been looking high and low for that tree, and today I found it in the garage. That tree has caused me more problems today! I have a feeling the tree came pre-lit. But many of the lights were no longer working, so I decided to remove these lights from the tree. GOD HELP ME! It was like trying to detangle and disassemble an octopus! It took me about three hours to do this and at one point I was ready to take a scissor to the lights. I didn't! But after three hours of work with these convoluted lights, I threw them in the garbage and will string new lights on the tree. At the moment, the tree looks like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. It is my hope after rearranging the branches and decorating it, I can transform it. IN MY SPARE TIME!

On Friday, our region has a threat of snow. The Washington, DC area has no concept on how to deal with snow. It causes sheer panic. Given that Friday's are my grocery days, I was concerned I wouldn't be able to go out tomorrow and get the things we need. So after I got my parents settled at 4pm, I went out! I typically don't leave the house after 4pm any more. Today was an anomaly and here's the funny thing, a ton of people were out and about. My life is regulated by caregiving, and when I am home, I am isolated from the world and what the world is doing. So going out and running chores this afternoon was a different experience for me. 

When I arrived at the grocery store, look what greeted me in the parking lot.... a BIG SUPER MOON! I take all my Mattie signs that come my way, and I needed that boost of support this afternoon. 

Here's another thing about shopping after 4pm, everyone in the store is like me..... all business and moving like the wind. One of my other stops while out was going to the bank. I have a devoted supporter who sends the Foundation funds through Western Union. The only way to deposit such a check is by actually going into the bank. This supporter is actually one of our very first donors and she contributes religiously over these last sixteen years. She also happens to be a former student of mine. I am deeply touched that she supports something I am so passionate about and I would like to think that our time together at the University was so meaningful that she has never forgotten me. Needless to say, whenever I see her check arrive, it transports me back in time, to when I thought my career, life, and future was going to look SO SO different. 

When I got back home, I had to put groceries away, deal with laundry, the mail, and cook, serve and clean up dinner. Some days I wonder..... when am I going to collapse? 

See Charlie Brown? I will see what I can do with it! I decided to place the tree in our family room, because this is where we spend the most time and I want my dad to be able to see the tree. In order to put the tree in this location, I had to move Sunny's dog bed. Yes he has been gone for almost two years, but his bed remains. In fact, Indie loves it! After Christmas, the bed is coming back to its rightful place. The funny story about Sunny's bed, is when we moved into our house in August of 2021, the second floor's air conditioning system died. It was so hot, that we slept in the family room. So I spent my first night in the house sleeping on the dog bed. Funny story, no?