Friday, July 17, 2026

Friday, July 17, 2026

Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2004. Mattie was two years old. That summer, we rented a house for a week in the Outer Banks, NC. Mattie's grandparents and cousins joined us for that week. Mattie's cousins were slightly older than he was and therefore were much more comfortable swimming and playing in a pool. Mattie was a little more tentative, yet eager to observe and find out how he could play along. As you can see I was staying close to Mattie because I wasn't sure what his next move was going to be! How I wish Mattie were still alive, he is missed each and every day. 

Quote of the day: Keys cannot unlock a broken heart. ~ Anthony T. Hincks

In January of 2024, Sunny (my incredible Australian Shepherd) died. Sunny was 13 years old when he died. We had him for 8 amazing years, as I adopted him when he was 5. Sunny opened up a whole new world for me. He got me outside, interacting with people and the world, and we did lots and lots of walks. He was the best exercise and provided such loyalty, love, and devotion. He was the best dog, and I always used to say.... I don't know who rescued who! 

When Sunny died, I bought two "Sunny" hibiscus plants at Lowe's. Each Fall, I bring these beauties inside the house for the winter, and then in the spring, I transplant them back outside into these pots. They are truly hardy plants as not all plants winterize well inside, nor do most plants like changing pots twice a year! Today was my very first Sunny bloom for the summer! Whenever I see these big blossoms, I think of my Sunman (my nickname for Sunny). 

The Canadian fires have made our air quality today almost unbearable. My mom had an intense nose bleed, which scared her. But I have experienced these episodes with her in the past, both here and in California. California gets lots of brush fires and every time there was a fire, it triggered a nose bleed. My mom's nose bleeds can be scary, because they can look intense like a hemorrhage. Thankfully I have experienced them before and know how to handle them with her. The surprise however, is the smokey air is impacting me too. No amount of allergy medication is helping me today and for once, I am hoping for rain. 

This afternoon, I finished my continuing education course on dementia. Gaining myself four more hours of continuing education toward my required 40 hours. Here's the funny thing about taking this course.... I have discovered that many of the evidence based strategies and interventions that were discussed, I have intuitively done with my dad. Not from reading books, or consulting with anyone, but having the sheer determination and perhaps creativity to make his quality of life as best as possible. So in a way, this course made me feel proud of myself, because what I negotiate through in any given day is NOT for sissies!